Shadow Reaper
by theawesomess1
Summary: A boy has lost everything, including almost all of his family. He dedicates himself to a new game, Sword Art Online, which turns out to be a Death Game. He fights to free himself, and his friends and family trapped within. No Kirito, uses OCs as main characters. Playing it by ear, no planned chapters, so, needs critism. Rewrite coming later
1. Chapter 1-The Death Game

**Hello, faithful readers! This is my 2nd story, and I want criticism! Please leave a review!**

It's been awhile since I've been to my parents grave. My family, my surname was Kansatora, was in a building in Tokyo when a terrorist bombing took out all my aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, now only myself and three siblings are what's left of our great family name. Now I live with my eighteen year old sister, fourteen year old brother, and seven year old sister. Me, you ask? Well, I am Tryn. I am fifteen, and everyone in my family hates me. Tisha, the older sister, hates me for being so childish. Bronts, my only brother, hates me for not spending enough time with him. Alisha hates me because I always seem down, and am no fun to play with. I am the only blonde in the family, my hair being almost white, although, everyone has the same baby blue eyes, mine are green. My siblings all have the same jet black hair, and features passed down from my father, who was a wealthy business man, owning everything from hospitals, to grocery stores. I look almost feminine. I am skinny, look weak, and all my features come from my mother, whose maiden name was Thrista,, an American, who inherited a very large amount of money from her father, but, she was never one of those prick, or stuck up women. She was kind, generous, and loving. My father, on the other hand, was abusive, cruel, and downright mean, though she adored him. Hell, I am also hated, because I am the only one in our family not Christian. Wow, that's hard. My mother was the only person I could talk to, the only person who would listen to me. And she is dead. Their deaths were over a month ago, but I still hear the screaming of people in the bombed building like it was yesterday. I still have nightmares, of myself in the flames of the building. I can hear the crash of it falling, killing everyone inside.

One day, a friend at school told me about this new game coming out, Sword Art Online, or SAO for short. He also told me that the beta tests were ending shortly, and he had reserved two games, one for himself and one for me. After the fire, the government took our money, leaving us a low-middle class house. My friend, on the other hand, was filthy rich, so, I didn't hurt his pocketbook to reserve two games.

I walked home, ecstatic about this. I had a new NerveGear rig, and a game to try it out. I walked through the door and was assaulted by my younger sister and brother, who, I learned, both also had rigs and games. They explained that they had gotten into the beta test, so they could actually help players in the game. To this, I smiled. Once in the game, I am going to have to ditch them, I decided. They really don't want to team with me. After calling out to Trisha, telling her I would be in my room, and I hooked up the rig, slotted in the game cartridge. "Link, start"

Colors zoomed by me, as the operating system started. "Hello, NerveGear user, please touch all parts of your body so the calibration for the software can begin, this is necessary, and we are sorry for any inconvenience." Well, here goes. After following the instructions, I found myself in a blackness. Then a light appeared in front of me, it seemed to be a mirror. I reached out to it, and touched it, but the mirror image didn't move. Then arrows appeared around my head, torso, hair, and legs. I tapped one, and my body became larger, and more muscled. After playing around with it, I settled on a medium height figure, dark hair, dark eyes. Not scrawny, not muscled. Perfect.

I clicked "accept" and teleported into an open field. I looked around me, and raised my hand. Wow, so lifelike…

I made my screen name "Tryth", a combination of my name, and my mother's last name, as a kind of tribute to her.

Then he was forced teleported. To the center of town. With every other poor soul. I opened my menu, and …. no logout button? What the hell? Then… hexagons started spreading from the middle of the sky, to the horizons. Then the sky was bleeding. Wow, not such a great start to the most wanted game ever!

From the blood, a crimson cloaked figure appeared, larger than fifty feet tall.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world." Ok, nice prank, can you let us go now?

"I am sure you have already noticed the logout button is missing from your menus. This is not a defect, I repeat, this is not a defect. This is the way Sword Art Online was intended."

Ok, fuck this.

"If you die here, you die IRL, if the NerveGear is removed from your head, you die IRL. There is no longer any way to revive another player, so, once your HP drops to zero, you are dead."

Shitfest.

"The only way to free yourselves is to clear the game, all one hundred levels of Aincrad"

Ok, this is insane! Since when are MMORPGs actually completed?

"Look in your inventories, I have given you a mirror" everyone took out the mirror, then we all changed…. into what we looked like irl. Shitshitshit.

"This is the end for the official tutorial for the SAO Death Game"

After he disappeared, the crowd stood in shock for a while. Fuck this, I thought, and started pushing my way out of the crowd.

Almost as soon as I made it outside of the Town of Beginnings, it seemed everyone snapped out of the trance at once. Shit. The roar and screaming, and pleading, and yelling was too loud to bear. I sprinted towards the next town, Horunka, where my siblings told me I could find a rare item. Well, sorry we couldn't meet up, just don't die, ok? On the way, anything that spawned near me, got my short sword shoved in its face. By the time I reached Horunka, I had already leveled up. "Now that you are level two, pick two skills that you will have for the rest of the game, these skills will automatically level up as you do, others take skill points, or SP to upgrade." Said that female voice. Hmm, looking through the list, I chose One Handed Swordsmanship, and Detection. I realized that I get three SP to spend, so I put two on Agility and one on Intelligence, which would up my critical chance.

I made it to Horunka, very winded though. I spent what little Col I had earned on some cheap bread, and ate some of it, restoring my stamina a little. Then I made my way to the house my sister had talked about. Once inside, I saw an old woman, stirring a pot. She had 'NPC' above her head.

She turned around, and said "hello wandering Swordsman, I am sorry, I don't have any food, only water for you" and she poured me a cup, which I took willingly. After finishing it, I heard fierce coughing from the next room over. Curious, I asked "hey, everything ok?" A question mark appeared above the npc, and she said "oh, that is my daughter, she is very sick and on her deathbed. The herbal medicine I got from the town" she gestured to the pot, "has no effect. The only way to cure her is to use the fruit of a Little Nepenthe. But they are dangerous for an old woman like me to fend off, would you, Swordsman, please retrieve the fruit for me?"

"Hell yeah, anything to help!" I said, then the question mark turned to an exclamation mark, and was accompanied by a "Secret Medicine of the Forest quest accepted"

As I walked out, I ran into….

"Tryn? Is that you?" I pulled my younger brother and sister into the house, shushing them.

"I go by Tryth, now. Please don't call me by that name!" I growled. Why did they have to be here now? Goddamn life!

"We were looking for you Try-Tryth!" My little sister hugged me. She is only seven, and she is in this death game.

"Bronts, take her and go back to town, stay there it's safe"

"Nuh-uh, we beta tested, we can help!" He said.

I shook my head, "it's too dangerous. Don't"

"And what? You get to be the hero? No!"

Ugh.

I walked out the door, towards the forest. I found out that they were following, so I turned around, "you do realize we can't split the fruit needed for the potion?" I said.

"We didn't accept the quest, it's yours, we are here to level up and get stronger!"

Idiots!

"Guys" I said, kneeling down, "I don't want you to get hurt, please go back, take up smithing! People will need that! Or be an info broker!"

They stubbornly shook their heads again. I sighed. I can't stop them from following. We went into the forest, and hacked and sliced our way through every Little Nepenthe that spawned. After a few hours, we finally killed one with fruit, and by that time, I was level five, and my siblings three, since I did most of the work. Again, I put my SP on Agility, and Intelligence. My brother and sister both became Str/Agi types, so the strike fast and hard, me, I thought that a little too mainstream.

I took back the fruit back to the granny, and presented it to her.

"Oh, thank you my Swordsman! Thank you! I will repay you for your trouble!" She walked into a room, and returned with a long sword in a red scabbard. I took it, and saw "quest completed", and I looked appreciatively at the Col and XP. Almost level six. The sword though was a little heavy for my tastes, but will do nicely, for now.

I started walking towards town, looking for a npc shop. After finding one, I walked in, opened the shop menu, and purchased a dark travel cloak. I don't want anyone else knowing who I am. "What's that for, onii-chan?" Asked my sister, still tailing me with my brother. "I am disappearing for a while." I replied.

"But, there is a labyrinth meeting tomorrow! To see who is going to fight in the labyrinth to find the floor boss!" Shit, I have to go to that!

"Fine, I will be there"


	2. Chapter 2-Angel Among Us

**To Thunderwolf7226: thanks for the feedback, I will try and continue the work!**

 **Yes I understand this gets cheesey, just bare with me!**

Here's something I found out pretty quick: grinding relieves stress. I was stressed for obvious reasons, I have to take care of a seven year old girl, a fourteen year old brother, and they are hated for being beta testers, and people keep calling me a girl, because of my voice. So, I grinded. A lot. After leveling up to ten, I made my way back to Tolbana, where the floor labyrinth raid meeting was going to be held.

I sat down, early by about an hour. This is going to be a waste of my time, I thought, damning myself for coming. I sat in the back of the amphitheater, in a corner. Alisha and Bronts had followed me. Their screen names were Majik and Daknight respectively. Stupid names, but, who can blame them, this is their first MMORPG.

"So, many of you are our only hope to beat this game!" A man up front took me out of my trance. He had blue hair, and stood erect, with a confident smile. "I am Diavel, and, I will be leading these meetings. We have found the labyrinth for this floor, and every day, we will send a few groups of people into it to try and find the boss room."

As he spoke to the crowd in the amphitheater, someone said "why not all of us go? And search together?"

Diavel smirked, "I'm glad you asked, if we all go, and not find the room, we will all be tired, and not up for going again, if we do groups, them we can rest in between the times of which we will be in the labyrinth, but keep a party searching at all times!"

No one could find any objections to this idea.

"So, everyone, get into groups, max seven people per group." Shit, I got no friends!

Majik and Daknight sat next to me. I received a party request, which I reluctantly joined. Great, now I still have to babysit them!

"I am the leader of group one", Diavel continued, after the groups were made, "since there are about twelve groups, we will have four groups at a time, with the other two resting. Groups seven," he pointed at myself and siblings (that no one knew we were related), "and nine" he pointed at another group, "and twelve will take the first shift, everyone else, have fun! I want two, three, six, and eleven ready to fight in two days, we will provide the map data. Squad one," this was directed to us, as we were taking the first shift, "we will move out tomorrow, get weapons repaired, and supplies bought." He left.

Next day.

Squad one stood outside of the imposing walls of the labyrinth. Somebody whimpered as we walked through the passageways, collecting map data automatically. "Be ready for anything" Diavel said, trying to restore courage, "we can take anything"

Then the first one showed up.

It resembled a dog standing on its hind legs, with armor on, and a sword in its hand. Drool ran down its muzzle as it growled at us. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

It charged us, well, me, and I was caught unprepared. Majik leapt in front of me, and blocked the strike one handed with her sword. She disengaged her sword with the demon, and used a [Vertical] sword skill to slice it in half. I mumbled my thanks to my young sister and continued the raid. Another demon appeared in front of me, and used my new Anneal Blade to block its strike. I roared, and used [Slice], a diagonal slashing attack, to cut this guy's health in half, and finished it off with my favorite, [Linear], to take it out. I grimaced. My [Linear] critical hitter, so it was a wayyyyyy over kill. I didn't have time to pound myself for not using up my SP yet, I still had four points to place, on intelligence. Then another attacked me. I used my superior speed to dodge out of the way, and thought, fuck this. I jumped high into the air, over my enemy, to where a gang of them were teaming against two players, who looked as if they were going to wet themselves.

Still in the air, I used a [Meteor Linear], which is a [Linear] attack that can only be used in the air, pointing straight down. I smashed into the center of the group. Good thing about [Meteor] attacks is that they do spread damage, of have a shockwave. Once on the ground, I started using my speed and agility to fend off the demons from killing the players. I hacked, and slashed, using very little Sword Skills, relying on speed and critical alone. As the last one fell to my sword, I fell to the ground from exhaustion. On my hands and knees, I tried to muster the strength to stand, but thought, how many did I get? Twenty? Thirty? I heard someone mutter, "He fought off over fifty mobs at once… how?" Fifty? No wonder I'm tired, I think I'll just nap… and fell asleep.

I awoke in a Safe Zone within the Labyrinth. Around me were tired players drinking health potions. All of them looked beat up. A screen appeared in front of me, saying "Congratulations! You are now level 18!" Damn, I leveled up a lot just now!

I placed my SP, and Diavel stood up, and said, "ok, we have charted a lot of this labyrinth. We are going back home now." Everyone cheered, except me and my family. We stared at each other, and grimaced. Oh well.

We walked back to the Town of Beginnings, and I immediately looked for a nod blacksmith. Sure, they suck at quality, and their prices are sky high, but, no one has set up as a smith yet, so, what alternative do I have? I walked in to find another cloaked figure judging by the stance, the person was angry at something. They both turned towards me as I entered.

"Ummm, something wrong?" I prompted.

"This npc is charging me 2000 col to repair my sword." Yelled the player. Judging by the voice, I am going to say female.

I grinned. "Come here a moment" I lead her outside, where my siblings were waiting.

"The little one has a high Bargaining skill, giver her your sword, and she will pay for repairs, in return, you will buy us dinner tonight, wherever you choose" I explained.

She didn't move. "And how do I know you won't just steal my sword and run? Huh?" She countered. I grinned at this. I handed her my Anneal Blade.

"Ok then. You get my blade until your is returned. It is the only one I have, so please don't take it and run" I said.

She hesitated, but took my sword, and gave me hers, which I handed to Majik. She ran into the shop. A few minutes later, she returned, and returned the blade. It was heavy, definitely a Str type. "I got him down to 150 col for a repair and polish." She bragged.

Stunned, the girl took her blade, and gave me my Anneal. "How the…. I guess there is something to the bargaining skill after all!"

After the little girl did the same to my beat up Anneal (220 col), we headed off to a local diner. "Best npc diner on the first floor!" Said the cloaked figure. Her screen name being [Angelica].

We walked into the diner, npc run, and sat down in a corner booth. I PMed my sibling telling them not to go overboard, order responsibly. After asking for a modest burger and fries, my family doing the same, Angelica looked surprised.

"Something up?" I inquired.

"I just thought you would ask for the most expensive thing on the menu, to get me to pay you back for that 150 col."

I laughed quietly. "Don't worry, I'll pay for dinner. And rooms, trust me, we have a lot of col, so don't worry about anything." She looked very skeptical, even though I couldn't see her face. I opened my menu, and turned it for her to see. "237,855 col" it read. Her mouth dropped. She didn't complain when I ordered the only room with four beds, and a bathroom/shower. With it came free breakfast in the morning.

We were relaxing in our room (all the beds are in one room), and I said "ok, time to break the ice" I unequipted my cloak, showing my features. She stared at my almost bleach-blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and almost feminine face, and gawked.

"Aww, you are so cute!" She exclaimed, my face reddened, from anger, not embarrassment, I hope….

"Do you two look the same?" She asked.

I shook my head, "I take after our mother, them, our father."

She looked disappointed. She took off her cloak, and my mouth dropped. She was thin, not like, skeletal, but thin, and she was dirty blonde, with emerald green eyes. The was tall, my height, and to me, looked absolutely gorgeous.

She blushed, and my sister whispered in my ear, "you are staring." At this, I blinked rapidly, and looked away, mumbling apologies. Wow, she certainly is Angelic! Haha! Hey the pun?

"Well?" She asked.

I have to be honest, "ok, well, to be completely truthful, you look drop dead beautiful." She blushed more profoundly.

Well, this is awkward. I heard Majik whisper to my brother, "You are staring at her chest"

Well, now this is very awkward.

 **Well, how was that for cheesey?**


	3. Chapter 3-Floor 1 boss

**To Thunderwolf7226: thanks for the reviews, you are a big help!**

 **to all readers: if you like, then say so! I don't know if you hate it, or live this story!**

 **also, yeah, in a chapter or two, it's going to get really depressing... mwahahahahaaaaaa!**

It was hot…. fire everywhere….. I couldn't move… I saw my parents… they were screaming for me to help them… I couldn't move…. I tried to yell…. my voice didn't work… as they burned I saw the look of hatred in their expressions…. I felt the heat… consuming me….

I woke up screaming. I found I was in a bed, sweating my ass off. I saw at the foot of my bed were Daknight, Majik. Angelica was at my side, hugging me, and whispering assurances that I was safe, everything was fine and so on. This is why I don't associate well with people.

After I calmed down, Angelica let go of me, and asked, "what was wrong? Nightmare?" I just stared at my hands, I have to be strong, for my brother and sister beside me. After a pause, I nodded. I mastered my heart rate and breathing after a minute or two, that felt like hours. The adrenaline stopped pumping into my system, and I finally calmed all the way down. I thought they had stopped? What the hell happened to make the night terrors come back?

"He watched our parents die" explained Daknight (Bronts, my younger brother). He was rescued by the fire fighters, but all of our relatives died except him. Now our family is just us, and a grown up sister."

She looked at me with pity. I hate it when they do that. It starts with pity, then hate, and rou ors spread, and nobody trusts me, or likes me. It always happens. No matter what.

Then, she did the unexpected, she hugged me. "We are here for you, if you need a friend, I am here!" She proclaimed forcefully in my ear. A friend? We just meet two days ago. Hell, we have to go back to the labyrinth today, and she is calling me a friend? Does she really care? Or does she just pity me like all of those sons of bitches?! She let me go, knowing we were on a tight schedule, and I dressed, and went downstairs to the dinner for a light breakfast. My three companions followed.

We ate in silence, quickly finishing our meal. I laid a tip down on the table, even though it's a npc run diner, I still leave one. Angelica was following us to the labyrinth meeting place. I turned to face her, "what are you doing?" I asked harshly.

"I am coming!" She said, getting defensive.

"No, it's too dangerous." I countered.

"Oh yeah? What's your level?"

I didn't expect that. "Eighteen" I replied.

She grinned in victory, "I'm seventeen, so whatever you can take, I can too!"

"No, stay here!" I pushed.

"I am coming, and that is that!" She brushed past me stubbornly. Girls.

"The meeting place is the other way" I called to her. She turned and walked the other way, saying "I knew that!" Yeah, right!

I donned my cloak, as did my companions. "Wee, since you know my secret, it's either take you or kill you" I said.

She paled, then laughed, "you are joking, right?" I grinned maliciously at her, and she paled even more, gulping. Ha! Serves her right!

We arrived outside of the labyrinth, and Diavel and his gang showed up, with the other group. "Who is this?" He asked

"Someone we picked up" I replied cooly.

"Hrmph. Just make sure she in in your party" and he walked away.

"You didn't have to be so rude to him!" Scolded Angelica

I shrugged. Majik sent her the request, and she accepted. I saw her health bar appear under mine. Now, under my bar, I had all of us. In a party, we can see how each other's health is doing. She tapped my shoulder, "ummm, Tryth? Why do you only have 150 health when I have 750?"

I grinned at her question. "Because I don't upgrade my health, I dodge everything coming at me." She looked worried.

"And if you can't dodge it?" She asked.

"Then I have Majik for that, she won't let me die!"

The little girl nodded.

"Hey wait a second!" Angelica said, "she is a little girl! No older than eight, and she gets to fight, but you don't want me fighting? Why?" She demanded. Majik giggled.

"I threatened to cut him into bits. My speed is equal to his, and my strength is much higher!" She got out.

I shrugged at Angelica's gaping mouth. We headed towards the labyrinth, the group fully here.

Once inside , we dashed to the uncharted section of our maps, easily killing anything in our way. We sort of rotated, me in front, with Majik on the right, Anjelica on the left, and Daknight playing clean up with whatever slipped through. We made it all the way to some big imposing doors. I am going to guess that is the boss room.

We grinned by it for a while, then headed out. Diavel PMed everyone that there was going to be a boss meeting tomorrow at the amphitheater, tell others.

Well, that means I have the rest of the day off! I had leveled up to nineteen, and placed a few SP on Str, so I can lift a little bit heavier swords, especially this Anneal, which got hard to swing after a while.

We went back to our room, since I still had a day on my rent, and relaxed.

We took baths in our suite, and had some fun. The girls decided to go shopping, on my money, so I gave them a thousand col, which they grumbled at the large amount, saying, "it's too small! How will we get anything good?" And I gave them another thousand.

They came back that evening, and showed me the shitload of stuff they bought. There were pots, pans, clothes, gloves, and even four new black cloaks "So we look uniform" exclaimed a enthusiastic Majik. Bite me, I should have limited them to that first thousand. We went to sleep happy and content.

The next day, we entered the amphitheater, and chose a spot at the back corner.

As everyone filed in, the total was a good 300. The tension about the boss raid was so thick, I could cut it with my Anneal.

Diavel took center stage, and shouted, " my name is Diavel, my specialization is knight!" Everyone suddenly laughed. The heavy armor and broadsword made it obvious, but it was a good ice breaker. Even I grinned.

"As we know, my group found the boss room yesterday" at this everyone cheered, "tomorrow, we are going to storm this boss, and take our first step towards clearing the game!" He was a good speaker, I thought. Riveting the crowd and all.

"I have something to say" yelled this person in the middle of the bleachers.

He ran from his spot to the front. He was shortish, brown spiked hair, and an attitude. "Beta testers. They are the reason we are here! They should have known something was off, and they keep taking the good hunting spots, and good gear!" At this, he gestured to my Anneal blade. "All the beta testers should come forward and apologize now! And while they are at it, give up their good items!" Many people shouted their agreement. I should do something…

Angelica stood up, and shouted "beta testers did nothing wrong! They wanted the good spots to level up faster and beat the game faster! If you have a problem with getting out of here, then leave now!" I nodded my consent towards her.

"Oh yeah? Explain the hundreds, maybe thousands dead already?! Huh? What you got for that miss pretty?!" Her cheeks flushed in anger, before she could speak, however, a deep bass voice interjected.

"Shut up Kibaou." A tall and well muscled black man took the stage. He pulled out a small book and continued, "everyone got this book, which gives many tips on how to survive, the best quests to use for leveling and items, and so forth. The beta testers made this book, and the beta testers passed out this book, everyone had this info right in their inventories, yet they still died. This isn't the beta tester's fault, it's the idiots who didn't heed the warnings in the book".

Kibaou grumbled something unintelligible, but sat down. "If I may continue" said an annoyed Diavel, "Everyone, group up, then, when I come by, tell me your specialization" and again, parties were made. He came by us, "so, what do you?" He asked. We all had our features obscured by our matching black cloaks. Daknight stood, and equipped a shield. "Tank" he said quietly. Angelica, Majik and myself stood, and I stepped forward, "damage" I explained. Then we sat. "Your party is a little small…. but, we need all the fighters we can get!" And he walked off to talk to another party.

"Now then," he said, once again at the front, "we will fight tomorrow. Be at the entrance to the labyrinth at ten o'clock. Don't be late! Use today to rest, and get your weapons fixed and upgraded, see you tomorrow!"

Well, this is going to get interesting.


	4. Chapter 4-Death

**yeah, more reviews please! Yes I know this is a shorter chapter, but, it's the first turning point.**

We stared at the imposing doors of the boss room. We were all huffing and puffing, from the run down to here, even with me huge agility stat, I was winded.

"Rest up, get your HP up to max! Then we enter the boss room!" At this, everyone cheered, and waited for our HP to rise. I was level nineteen, and about halfway to twenty. My sister told me, that once I reach level twenty, I get another skill slot. She was twenty, almost twenty one, and might be the strongest player in the game. The day before, instead of sleeping and resting, I went grinding. I went up two levels, I was seventeen, and I placed a few SP on Intelligence, upping my Critical chance to five percent, or one critical hit in twenty hits. The other four points went to my Agility, my motto is : hit fast, don't get hit. So far, I am living up to it.

Everyone was ready. We walked into the pitch black room. Then… lights everywhere. The floor was technicolor rainbow, the pillars matching. It looked like we stepped into a scene from My Little Pony. This is why I stick to black. Across the room, was a huge jackal headed monster, really tall, and really wide. It had no armor, but a massive battle axe in one hand, and a sword in a sheath at his side. Three health bars appeared by its head, signaling this to be the boss.

It roared, and smaller versions of the boss spawned, but with heavy armor, and small hatchets. Diavel motioned to us to fight them, and fight them we did. Although Daknight was with the other tanks, keeping the boss busy, while the attackers did all the damage they could. I gritted my teeth, and easily hacked the minion to shreds in front of me, and Majik annihilated the other two, leaving Angelica grumbling about needing to do some leveling. After that, we sprinted towards the boss, knowing that the three of us could do at least as much damage as the seventy attackers in front of is. I lept, roared, and charged a [Linear], that took my into its face, where I just kept comboing. The other attackers and tanks backed off and watched us fight. I would leap, hit its face, and it would stumble backwards, Majik would continue my combo, with a [Horizontal] and a [Uppercut] followed by a [Meteor Vertical] that left it stumbling further, and Angelica did a similar combo. Wash, rinse, repeat.

We soon got its health down to the last bar after only thirty minutes, that is really fast!

When this happened, however, all hell broke loose.

As I was next in the combo, I leapt to use my [Linear] again, but this time, it was faster. It struck me, and I flew into, and through a pillar. My two hundred and fifty health was at ten. Ouch, that bastard! Majik, then distracted, got kicked, and landed beside be, though she took less damage seeing as she didn't go through a pillar. Daknight, then lept to protect Angelica, but he was thrown into her by a well placed punch, and the two went flying. Goddamnit!

I stood to face the boss again, but he dropped his axe, and drew his longsword. Then, as I was running up to deliver some blows, started bouncing off pillars in a confusing fashion. He landed right behind me. I slowly turned… he raised his sword to kill me…. so this is what it's like, seeing your life flash before your eyes. Right before he struck, I was pushed away by a small but strong figure. "NOOOOO" I screamed as my little sister was cut, from shoulder to hip.

She was blown back, and I raced to her. Damn! I don't carry health potions, because I have such low health, and such high speed, I never thought I would need them. I sat there crying "don't die, please" but it was no use, her life was sinking… all the way… to zero.

"Don't cry, you need to lead the others to victory, you are the one who will free them. Take care of them, by, onii-chan…" and she bursted into polygons of blue light.

A loud clang woke me from my trance, and I saw Daknight…. Bronts….. land next to me, a hole in his stomach… no… not him too… he looked at me, with fear in his eyes, "help me" he said. Then he too, exploded into little blue lights. I was blinded by rage, insane from fury. I picked up my Anneal blade, and roared a challenge at the boss. It stopped above Diavel, and turned to face me. It roared back, and rushed to me, going to try and finish off the whole damn family. Not today. I will not die today!

I jumped, too fast for it to hit with its large sword. I swung, hacked, sliced, slashed, [Linear]ed, [Meteor Linear]ed, [Slice]ed, and every other skill that I had in my arsenal, I used on my sister's, and my brother's, murderer. No one interfered, my health at ten the whole time I gored this fucking boss. I landed after it too, burst into blue light. I sheathed my heavily damaged Anneal, and saw the "Congratulations!" Screen, "You are now level 22!" Damn you boss, damn you game, damn you Kayaba!

I stood breathing heavily, tearing at the floor, when arms wrapped themselves around me. "I am so sorry" Angelica whispered in my ear. "Don't blame yourself" she said. It is my fault, if only I had been faster, only then Majik… no, her name is Alisha… wouldn't have died. It's all my fault!

"You, you, how?" Stuttered a gruff voice. I struggled out of Angelica's grip, and looked at the owner, "you must be a beta tester!" Said Kibaou. I chuckled insanely. "No, I am not a beta tester. The beta testers were noobs. My sister, and brother, and closest friends are though. That means, I am the result of combining the knowledge of three beta testers combined. Don't insult me by ranking me the same!" I exclaimed with more mad laughter.

He stared at me like I was the one who was responsible for the deaths, like I was to blame. I equipped my new item, the "Last Attack Bonus" from the boss. The [Cloak of Midnight].

I then worked my way through my menu, and dissolved the party with Angelica. "You, you aren't a beta! You are a downright cheater! You are a Beater!" Kibaou proclaimed.

"Beater…. I like the sound of that. Ok, you can call me 'The Beater' from now on" I walked up the stairs that appeared after the boss's death, and reached floor two. I made my way across the savanna of the floor, and reached the first town, where I turned on the teleporter, called a Gate, and walked to the nearest inn, bought a room, and flopped on my cheap bed. A few hours later, I heard knocking, and the door opened to reveal Angelica standing in the doorway.

She sat beside me, put my head in her lap, and stroked my hair. I couldn't hold it any longer. I grasped her in a tight hug, and cried all over her shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5-Dispair

**I know I killed off a seven year old, I know I just left Tryth with nothing. Again, I am typing by ear, none of these chapters are prepared, and I decide what I am going to type and research when I pick up the keyboard. Any comments, review or PM me, I check every day, except weekends.**

After I finished crying, I laid down upon the bed. Angelica curled up beside me and we both slept.

The fire…. the death….. the hatred….. I was back in the boss room, watching the fight. I couldn't move, but I didn't need to, the others were doing well against it. Then, it all changed. The boss's eyes became red, and glowed, my sister tried to kill it, but was sliced from shoulder to hip. "Help my, Tryn, why aren't you helping me?" She asked. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. The sadness in her eyes turned to betrayal before she died. "You killed her! You killed your sister! And you killed me!" Shouted Bronts as he lay behind me. I turned to see his face contorted in anger. Anger towards me. I killed them, I did. It's all my fault, I should have saved them. The he to, burst into blue polygons.

I woke up from the nightmare in the bed, with a beautiful girl beside me. Neither of us had undressed, but I knew where we were and how we got here. I quietly crept out of bed, and stuffed a pillow in her arms to keep her from waking. I equipped my Cloak of Midnight, and my Anneal Blade, and left the room. I won't let her be killed for being near me. And, if she stays close, she will get labeled a Beater as well, I can't let that happen, I must burden this alone. I can't handle seeing another die because of me.

I walked out to find something to grind.

"Well, hello, Beater! How are you today?" A cheery feminine voice asked from behind me. I finished obliterating a mob, and turned to face Argo the Rat, her signature green cloak and black whiskers confirming her identity.

"What do you want, info broker?" I asked. Argo never did anything that didn't benefit her.

I saw her mouth grin, her mouth and chin were the only things not covered by the cloak. "Oh, just here to chat with the Beater!" Two can play at this game! She thought.

I grunted, and hacked a nearby mob to shreds in two strikes.

She watched me grind for about thirty more minutes. "Don't you have someone else to bother? Maybe even ,are some col out of it?" I asked as another mob died. I was farming a monster known as Wind Wasps. They are rather weak, but can strike quickly, so you either need high defense, or Agility to be very successful against them. They were about three feet long, with a six or seven foot wingspan. Once you cut one wing though, the fell to the ground where it was trivial to run through their heart, or lop off their head.

"I was wondering why you are alone" the broker said. I killed the last Wind Wasp nearby, so I had ten or twenty minutes before they spawn again. I faced the Rat.

"I am alone because I chose to be alone, now scram rat!" I said, waving the heavy Anneal in her direction. I really should up my Str stat, I can't fight with this for long.

Something dinged, and Argo opened her menu, and said, "wow, even though you are the most hated player, people are asking me where you are, they want you to join their guild!"

I stared at her. I had long ago ditched my traveling cloak, so my face wasn't hidden like the Rat's.

I grunted and sat down, to wait for the Wind Wasps to respawn. "They want the Beater? That's odd. Hmm. You still haven't told me what you want" I stated.

I saw her mouth twitch, trying not to smile. "Well, you are almost as sharp as me… I will t-" she was interrupted when a person dressed all in black, like a ninja ran up. "I found the Rat!" He shouted over his shoulder. I didn't get up, but readied myself to defend Argo. Seven more ninja people walked over from the tall grasses. Hrmph, I should have known they were there. Damn, unless their Hiding skill is that high…

"Give us what we want Rat! We will pay any price!" One of them said, the only one wearing a red bandana, so I guessed he was the leader.

Argo shook her head, "Sorry guys, I already told you, that piece of info isn't for sale!" By her stance, I could tell she felt threatened. Oh well, I hate being Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, but, I gotta do what I gotta do. When the ninja reached for the Katana on his back, I seemed to teleport into his face, holding his wrist, preventing it from drawing the blade. Under the mask, I could tell the man was surprised. He backed away, easily shaking my grip. Him and his friends drew their swords with practiced ease.

"Don't you ninjas have a honor code or something?" I asked. "Eight versus one does not seem very honorable." This got to them. The leader sent me a Duel Request. I set the rules, first down to one health point loses. He paused before confirming that he agrees to the rules, I did the same. As the gen second timer started counting down, I opened my menu, and proceeded to unequip all of his light leather armor. "What are you doing? That is your only protection!" Argo shouted. She was right, with my armor, my HP was 862, a decent amount, without, it was 255. The timer hit zero and the fight began. I appeared behind the ninja, and sheathed my sword. He turned to me, and yelled "Hey, what are you doing?" As I walked away.

"The fight is over" I said.

He looked at his HP, and gasped. It was at one point. "H-how?" He asked.

I turned to face him. "I am level 27. My speed is the highest in the game. I struck you three times, mostly because my critical chance is now twenty per cent, but I can't hit fast enough to do five times before you realize you are hit. I hoped that three was enough, and I ditched my armor to lower my weight, increasing my speed by nearly double" I stated calmly. He stood stuttering for a few minutes, then sheathed his sword, and walked away, his cult following him.

"Wow" breathed Argo behind me. "Thanks Tryth, I owe you one!" She said.

I grunted, and then replied, "I wasn't doing it for you, I was doing it to test my own powers. Don't think I actually like you. I just see the benefits of you staying alive." My back was to the Rat, so I didn't see her look depressed at my reply. "I don't need anyone, and nobody needs me. I think I want to keep it that way"

I felt arms wrap around me. Shit, not her too! "You need a friend, just as I do. Don't hold yourself inside, open up to people. It's better that way". I felt the press of her seductive body behind me. I sighed.

"You don't know what has happened to me, what I have done. To be honest, it would probably be best of you forgot you knew me" I tried to get out of her grip, but, with my almost non-existent Str stat, I couldn't.

"You need a friend" she pressed on. I finally got out of her grip. I turned to face her, and say her face had wet streaks down it. What the hell? Argo is alway composed, even when my-my-my sister knew her in the beta, she was always cheery, teasing everyone. "Just, do it, ok? You are my friend, and I know about your family, how your older sister is now the only one left, other than you, I know that you are hurting right now, just open up to someone, alright?" Ugh. I locked up with the memory of the deaths resurfacing.

"If you know so much about me, then you know that you shouldn't be near me. Everyone near me hates me, and then they die." I didn't look at her face, which had a few tears dripping down it. I heard the singing of a menu opening. I glanced at her, to see her PMing someone. After that was done, she took off her hood, and grabbed my face, forcing me to look at her beautiful face. "You are staying right here! You are not leaving until I say so!"I glared at the sudden balls this girl just grew, but I complied, mostly because the Wind Wasps were respawning, so I wanted to grind some more, because grinding helps release stress. How could it not? Hacking endless weak mobs down, over-killing the shit out of them? How could it not?

Then I heard "Tryth". A voice I remember… shit, Argo did not PM her! Argo did not!

I turned, killing the last Wind Wasp again, gotta wait another ten minutes. Angelica was standing there, an expression on her face I didn't recognize. It was somewhere between rage, pity, depression, and something else…. I couldn't place it…. then I was assaulted from both girls, punching and kicking me, yelling at me for being such a dumbass. When the barrage stopped, I was wrapped into a bear hug by both girls.

This is why I tried to run away! I cannot stand these emotions!


	6. Chapter 6-the confession

**thanks for the dedicated readers, and the single person reviewing my stories!**

 **to Thunderwolf7226: I am glad you like the ending of the last chapter, I hope I continue to impress!**

 **people! Please post a review or pm me what you think! I want to know if there is a way I can improve the next chapter!**

After all the mushy emotions were dealt with (and several more episodes where Angelica hit me) we all calmed down. We were sitting inside of a local tavern, Argo with four PM screens on at the same time, which was three more than I could handle, eating (of course on my tab "be a gentleman!" Argo had said. Screw them). They had convinced me not to run away (Argo threatened to track me down, and kill me with Angelica, which, even though I was faster than either of them, I knew they could easily take me if they teamed), and hear them out, which led us to me paying for dinner, and rooms.

"Tryth… Aincrad to Tryth, are you there? Over" Argo got me out of my trance. I shook my head bleating my thoughts. Oh, they must have asked me something… oops.

The girls were on the other side of the booth, staring at me.

"I asked if you want to talk later, in our room, or now?" Angelica repeated. Oh, that….

"I don't want to talk at all, I want to be left alone-" before I could finish, I felt Argo's knife between my legs. I got the hint. Both gorgeous girls looked at me in anticipation, awaiting my answer. I was saved by the food getting here. Argo, knowing approximately how much col I had, so she told Angelica to order anything, which ended up being the most expensive burger in Aincrad. Best of all, Argo decided to get one as well. I got a meager Pasta Plate, which had spaghetti, and meatballs. Not as filling, but wayyyyyy cheaper. Argo shot me a withering glare, saved by the food! That knife still hasn't removed itself from its position, so I was feeling very prone as we ate.

We finished, and headed up to the room. We all shared one room, with two beds. I had told them that I was okay sleeping on the floor, so they didn't grumble too much, though they shared a knowing look.

We entered the room, Argo slammed the door, Angelica shoved me onto a bed, and ordered, "Ok, talk!" I opened my mouth to reject, but Argo slipped her knife back into its position from earlier, so I shut my mouth. "We know that you are distraught still, so, open up to us!" Angelica continued. I opened my mouth, and indignant expression on my face, and Argo's knife pressed against my crotch, and my mouth shut with a click. I moved the blade aside, and stood. "I don't want to open up. I am fine with out needing to spill everything to you."

Argo got pissed. She slashed her blade across my face, dealing zero damage since we were in a safe zone, but it it still hurt like a bitch. Again, Angelica, using her superior Str stat, shoved my ass onto the bed. She looked soooo angry… then, she looked resolute. She fiddled with her menu, and a duel request appeared in front of me. As I sat puzzling this, she grabbed my hand, and hit "accept". In here? My fighting technique, which consisted of quick stabs, is at an advantage against her sweeping slashes style. We stood at opposite sides of the large room. I drew my Anneal, and she was holding a large, heavy, Str style blade. At the ding of the timer, the duel began. She attacked, slashing in a strong vertical, which I parried using a Sword Skill, without moving my feet. She stumbled back. She gritted her teeth, and attacked the same way. I sighed, and moved my right foot, placing it behind my left, turning my body ninety degrees to the right. Her sword missed me by an inch, and she was moving past me, a startled expression on her face. I pushed her onto the floor with one and, my left, and the other, with my heavy Anneal, struck her five times before she got up, her health at half, fulfilling the victory conditions for the duel. I received some XP and col, and she grinned at me, as though she had won. Confused I looked at Argo, who started laughing and rolling over on the floor. I glanced at my winnings, and saw at the bottom, "The victor of this match has to confess everything to the looser, and answer up to ten questions, truthfully, and fully."

"You bitch!" I growled, feeling betrayed, my mental walls going up again. "So, what is wrong?" Asked Angelica after Argo quit laughing.

"I don't want to talk about it" I said truthfully, earning myself a slap, from the owner of the laughing a moment ago. Abruptly I stood, "I really do not appreciate being slapped!" I said, earning another slap. Yet again, I was pushed onto the bed by my dueling opponent.

"Is it about your Majik and Daknight?" Asked a certain Rat. I shot her a death glare, before saying again, "I don't want to talk about it", because I was bound by the rules of the duel, I couldn't lie, and say "nothing", so I told the truth. Argo hand was speeding towards my face again, but I caught her hand, growling "Enough, Rat, stop".

She smiled maliciously, and breathed "Oh, Tryth! I didn't know you wanted to touch me so much!", and I practically threw her hand out of mine, snorting in disgust. "Trust me, I want nothing to do with a Rat" I countered. She responded by blowing some of her dark hair out of her deep purple eyes.

"Look, we are trying to help you!" Said Angelica, and before she continued, I interjected.

"I don't want your help! I want you to leave me alone! I want to die!" I screamed at her. The blonde in front of me started crying. Argo walked over, and hugged her, comforting the sobbing girl.

"Look what you did! We are here trying to keep you from suiciding, and you make her cry? You don't deserve us as friends!" She spat, glaring at me the whole time.

"Trust me," my voice suddenly quiet, and my eyes glued to the floor, "if I had the courage to suicide, I would have already."

The sobbing slowed, the full impact of what I just said taking hold. "I actually contemplated dying, all I had to do was go to the edge of the map, and jump. I had stood there, on the edge. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't jump. I couldn't rid the world of one more undeserving person" at this, I ran past them, and sprinted out of the room. I ran and I ran and I ran. I arrived at the edge and stood, weeping. After a moment of crying, I jumped off the cliff… into the abyss below…. to finally stop feeling…. and I stopped falling. I craned my neck and looked up, I saw Argo holding onto my jacket, and Angelica holding her feet, Argo totally off the edge. After I was pulled up, and we sat panting, Argo drew her knife and started slashing at me, fast. Thanks to my high Outdoor Survival skill, my health replenished as soon as she made a wound.

"Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!" She enunciated each word with a Slash across my torso. It hurt, but I didn't try and defend myself, accepting it. Angelica started crying again. Oh, my, gods! Is she made of tears or something?!

"Look what you did! Again!" Argo yelled in my face, her expression livid. "This whole time, you are so clueless! Ugh! You dumbass!" She shouted at me. "You don't realize the reason she cares is because she has fallen for you!" Her words slammed into me like a eighteen wheeler truck. What? Fallen for me? How could anyone?

She opened her mouth to berate me some more, but a familiar arrogant, beater hating voice stopped her.

"Well, of it isn't The Beater and his cronies!" Kibaou said, walking up with seven people behind him. They were all wearing white armor…. oh yeah, he was a commander in the Holy Dragon Alliance, a guild that focuses on the medieval times!

"What do you want, Kibaou?" I demanded, standing protectively in between him and Angelica and Argo.

"We want some information from the Rat." He commented smugly. Hrmph, I ought to slug him!

"I am not selling that particular piece" said Argo, coming up by my side. Her presence felt comforting, despite they still outnumbered the two of us, four to one. Kibaou's face became enraged. "Yes you will, Rat!" He said, drawing his heavy looking sword.

I stepped in front of her. "And who is going to make her? You?" I scoffed. I won't let her be threatened by this… this…. oh, come on! I can't even think of an insult horrid enough for him!

He looked at me, anger, but surprised. "I didn't know you needed the protection of a Beater!" He laughed to Argo. I could feel her about to retort, so instead I did.

"No, she has beaten me in a duel, she is better than me. But you…" I said. The first comment making everyone gasp. "You are not" I sent him a duel request, rules: swords only, first to half life loses. He glanced suspiciously to me, then accepted. I drew my Anneal, and him his heavy two handed sword. The timer dinged as the duel began. Like every idiot, he rushed towards me, but I was so much faster. To him, I teleported behind him, sheathing my blade. He turned to me, and glanced at his health…. which was at halfway from my quick strike, that hit his exposed neck, dealing extra damage, and my critical doing even more, reducing his life to half. He looked at me with awe, mixed with fury. But he stormed off.

I felt arm wrap around my torso as the short Rat hugged me. "Thank you" she said into my back.

"I couldn't let them threaten you two. Y'all are the only ones who treat me like a person, even the npc's seem to up my charge." I replied casually, feeling the press of her body was giving me ideas.

Angelica's voice interrupted the quiet exchange. "I am not the only one who fell for you, Tryth." She said, Argo started shushing her, as I looked cluelessly at her. "Argo feels the same way" ok, this predicament is going to be hard to get out of!

I faced the Rat, and saw a blush spread across her cheeks, the only part of her I could see. This time, I was the one who wrapped them into a group hug.


	7. Chapter 7- more death

**thank you those who have reviewed! Your comments do make a difference! For example, a reader named Thunderwolf7226 decided some of this chapter for me! I take criticism, but not the few of you who say things like "oh, this sucks ass, you are suck a fucking looser", that doesn't help at all. Enjoy!**

As we were hugging, Argo dinged. We disentangled from each other, and she opened up her PM list. After a few moments of reading she gasped. She turned her menu for us to read the message:

Kibaou has taken twenty people into the labyrinth, and has miraculously found the boss room. He is attempting to clear it.

We sat stunned for a moment, digesting this news. "That idiot! That's a suicide mission!" I growled. Angelica followed it up with "He may be stupid, but not even he is that stupid!" We shared a glance, then dashed into the nearest town. My speed putting me way ahead of the rest, but, when I got there, it would be a better idea if Argo announced this problem. She arrived a few seconds after me, and ran into the middle of the square. I hoisted her above the crowd, and she stood on my shoulders. She may be light, but she better make this quick! I am pretty weak!

"People! Kibaou took twenty people into the labyrinth, and found the floor boss. He is raiding it, and is probably getting his men killed! We need everyone to get weapons, and go help him!" She may be naturally shy around crowds, but when she put her mind to it, she was a motivating speaker! Together, we got about seventy people to go and help, twenty-odd tanks, fourth-odd attackers, and a few throwers and people to pass potions around, and move the wounded. On the way, we managed to pick up a few more people who were grinding the floor, but not many.

As a unit, we dashed towards this floor's labyrinth, and I dispatched a few people to run to the other towns, and get more fighters. We dashed through the maze, only killing the mobs that were necessary, and made it huffing and puffing to the door. Inside we heard screaming, and the sound of people dying. I shuddered, and pushed open the door, to see Kibaou land right in front of me, and explode into blue polygons with a terrified expression on his face. We charged.

The boss was basically a Minotaur. Fur jet black, standing on its hind legs. It's name was Asterius the Taurus King. It also had a crown atop its head,and a massive battle hammer in its hand, and roared at the newcomers. I saw, out of the original twenty, only six were still alive. I gritted my teeth, and used [Sonic Jump] to leap at the boss, its back to me. Furiously, I stabbed it repeatedly with [Linear], and when I landed, the boss turned from its intended victims. I did exactly zero damage. Damn. [Asterius the Taurus King] was floating above its head, as I lept backwards as lightning shot from Asterius's mouth, to where I was just standing. I motioned for the tanks to run forward and take his attention, while the attackers and I grouped up to discuss this.

"My quick attacks deal little damage" I said, and someone rolled their eyes.

"Obviously" the owner of those eyes drawled.

"Ok, ladies, don't fight" another guy said, "this is definitely a boss you can't help with Tryth, we got it!" I nodded to the confident man, who didn't seem to hate me for being The Beater. "Hey guys, give him half of your HP potions, so he can distribute them during the battle to whoever needs them!" He continued.

Over all, I had a lot of HP potions. I turned to go to the sidelines with Argo who was throwing picks at the boss, again, doing no damage. I was standing by her, I heard her exhale, and throw another, aimed for its head. It too this as a time to squat, so the pick embedded itself into the crown. The Taurus King yelled in pain and stumbled. She hit the crown, and it did extra damage? Oh, yeah! We shared a look, and I took off to the attackers. I arrived at the man from earlier, who looked as stunned as we did that he stumbled, he just didn't know why. "Hey, the crown is its weak spot! Give me a moment to get up there, and I will Critical this guy into the next floor!" I said. He nodded, and called the other attackers to formulate a plan, while I ran around, looking for a way to reach the top of this thing. I can't make it by a single [Sonic Jump], and my cool down isn't high enough for me to do it off a wall. How the hell do I hit this thing? I felt a familiar presence next to me. I looked and saw a grinning Angelica.

"I have an idea, but you are not going to like it" she said. Judging by her smile, I definitely won't. She told me, and I didn't like it.

"Well, here goes something" I couldn't think of a better idea, so, I got on her back, and she used a [Sonic Jump] to go about elbow height with the Taurus King, and I then used the same technique to jump off of her, and onto the head of the beast. I was smack on top of the head, right inside the crown. I felt him tilting as he leaned back, presumably to shoot another lightning attack. I have no time to spare! I drew my Anneal, gave a wordless roar, and pounded him as fast as I could with [Linear]s. Just as I was attacking, he was stumbling, so I was doing something right, but it was hard to stay standing on this things head, much less attack, but I kept pounding, letting my now twenty five percent Critical speak for itself. He bucked, and I was thrown off. I landed with a groan. That fall took half my meager health, but oh well. I landed right by Argo, and the Rat helped me to my feet, looking proud. Still winded, I looked at my handy had managed to take a full health bar, and almost all of the second. Then, it would change its attack pattern, either as it got yellow, or red, so we had to be prepared. After resting, and a nagging Argo convincing me to drink a health potion ("I'm a Agi type! I don't care about health!" I argued, but she countered with "if it bucks you off again, you will die!" So I was kind of forced, but I gave in).

The other girl appeared next to me, nodded to me and asked "Ready for round two?". With my nod, we tried the same tactic, which got me in the same spot. Again, I landed on my ass, which hurt. I stood, readied my blade, and [Linear]ed as fast and hard as I could. Again, I was bucked off, this time, much more violently, and again, I landed with half health. After downing another potion, I looked at the boss, and saw its hair almost looking like it was on fire, like it was made of burning coals. I looked by its health bar, and saw [Speed Buff] and [Strength Buff]. Oh shit, this is going to get bad.

It shot more lightning, stunning all the players nearby, with them unable to move, they were slammed by the King's hammer. I raised again, to finish them off, when Angelica sped to its feet, and used a daring [Jumping Uppercut] to blockage attack. She fell back to the ground, and I dragged her out of the way. I should really put at least a few stat points on Str, even she is heavy! As I had predicted, its remaining health had reached the halfway point, turning yellow. The players recovered quickly, but Angelica was favoring her right arm, her sword arm, like she had jarred it. We stood there, boss and players, Asterius the Taurus King, and gamers, staring at each other. Then I gave a wordless battle cry, and raced towards it.

A few days later, we sat celebrating in one of the inns the third floor had to offer. The whole floor was a forestry area, covered in trees, and the towns were in clearings. We sat in a quieter inn, enjoying the company of friendship. "So do you remember what we said?" Asked a nervous Angelica. I pretended to look puzzled, but I had a sneaky suspicion this was about there confession to me. Well, the ratted each other out, but, eh, who cares? At my expression, her eyes rolled, and Argo's knife reappeared between my legs, making me sit straighter, and be careful about how I moved. She grinned sadistically, and growled "You dumbass. We poured out our hearts, and you forgot? You are such a boy!". And we laughed, me nervously, and I admitted to actually knowing. I rented a room, with three beds. We sat in ours, the girls looking sheepish for some reason. I was studying Argo. Her black hair, cut at the chin. Her deep purple eyes. Her painted on whiskers. She realized I was staring and startled blushing, before throwing a pick at me. Well, there goes that. "Pervert!" She yelled, before taking the pick from my forehead. I had a splitting headache. This is what it feels like to have a migraine, I mused, before the pain faded. "Why were you staring at me? Huh?" She demanded. I felt a blush start to keep up my face, and I stuttered "umm…. well…. I, uh….. sorry!" And the room went silent as I hid beneath the covers. I heard Angelica's voice, say tauntingly "Ooooooooh, Tryth has a crush on Argo! Argo and Tryth, sitting in a tree…" oh, well. Here we go with the endless teasing by a jealous girl.


	8. Chapter 8-Moonlit Night

**thanks again, to thunderwolf7226 for all of your input!**

 **people, please review, or PM me if you have any questions or concerns. If you like the story, follow it! Or review, telling me that you do like it! It would help! Seriously!**

The floors were pretty much cleared through hype. Each floor took three or four days before we passed onto the next. On floor twenty, I got my new blade. It was thin, about and inch wide, and five feet long. It was very light, and black colored. It's name was [Shadow Slicer] and it had the ability to greatly increase my Agi stat. Soon, though, we stalled at floor thirty, when I decided to take a break, with some much needed rest. Argo had long since left us (but we became close friends in that time, and we knew each other's IRL name), but I made us a party first, doing her job of info brokering, and Angelica wanted to keep fighting. I went down to floor sixteen for some r&r, but got something else instead. As I was relaxing, a got a PM. I looked at it, it read:

Sender: Argo

Message: hey, have you looked at the newspaper? And, yes there is a newspaper, it gives us stuck in SAO a chance to know what's happening in the real world. Read it.

I groaned, and sent:

Too lazy, just come here and tell me…..

A few minutes later, she arrived. My heart lept unexpectedly, but when I saw her expression, I knew something was up. Usually she would yell at me for being lazy, then hold a knife to my groin. When our eyes met, she grimaced. She handed me a paper, which I stared at. She shrugged, and said "Here is a summary… please don't hate me, I don't want that, please…. here goes… your sister committed suicide. She was found in her kitchen, with a bloody wrist, and a knife in her hand." She stood there as the information sunk in. A single tear ran down my face…. I felt rage boiling within…. then Depression….. then more rage…. then more Depression….

She looked at me with emotions she didn't normally show. She was normally a playful yet emotionless person… but… the pity….. it made me feel more depressed… I stood up and ran. I ran until I collapsed in exhaustion.

I cried. I cried I cried and I cried. All of my family was dead. I am all that remains. My sister died protecting me, my brother trying to avenge her, and now my older sister is. How can I go on? I was vaguely aware of someone approaching me. My instincts tell me two people.

As I was sobbing, I felt my head lifted, and placed on something softer, probably a lap. I felt my hair stroked. I sobbed, staining who's ever pants these are. I cried until I felt dry, like it was impossible to cry anymore. I sat there, wallowing in grief, all the while Argo (I figured, and hoped, it was her) stroked my head and spoke words of comfort to me. I felt something inside of my crumble up and die. I felt hollow. Alone.

I sat up, drying my face on my sleeve. I looked Argo in the eyes, and hugged her. She hugged back, not surprised at all. I stood, and saw Angelica standing nearby, her hand over her mouth, her face contorted in pity. After standing for a few minutes, I spoke in a raspy hoarse voice, "Go away" this took them by surprise, I saw the question before they spoke, so I continued, "Everyone near me dies, I don't want that to happen, I care too much, especially you Argo. I can't live any longer if you die."

They looked at me understandingly. "We aren't going to leave you" spoke Argo softly, pressing her body against mine. "We love you, and want to help" her deep eyes sparkled with an inner light. I almost gave in. Almost.

"I can't" I croaked. "I am sorry, so sorry, but I can't let you near me. I don't want you to die" she buried her face in my chest, but it was Angelica who spoke next.

"We don't want you to throw your life away. Just let us" again, I wanted to. But I can't. I have to protect them.

I shook my head, disentangled Argo from me, and ran as fast as I could. I knew they were following, but even though Angelica's Agi was near mine, with my new sword, she didn't stand a chance in the race. I ran to the town center, to the Gate, and teleported to the front lines. Once at the Town on floor thirty, I dashed to this floor's labyrinth, and grinned. In a blind rage, I soloed most of the labyrinth. After a few hours, I sat in front of a mob, and screamed at it "KILL ME" and it swung. I closed my eyes, and heard the sound of something dying. I opened my eyes, expecting to see nothing, but I saw Argo, holding a knife as though she just killed the mob I wanted to end me. She turned, and slapped me, taking a chunk of my low HP out. I still had a little over 800, my max was 989 now. She yelled "YOU TRIED TO SUICIDE?! YOU TALK AS THOUGH YOU ARE FULL OF PAIN, BUT WHAT WOULD IT PUT ME THROUGH IF YOU DIED? HUH? YOU ARE A SELFISH BASTARD, TRYTH". These words struck me like her slap. Only the words hurt more. I stood, and hung my head. I don't deserve friends. I shouldn't have her. She is too good for me. I should just die.

My thoughts were interrupted by her hands pulling my head down. I opened my eyes in surprise, and her lips pressed against mine. It felt good, soft, and it felt right. When she leaned back (I realized that even though she pulled my head down, she had to stand up on the balls of her feet) and stared into my eyes, and said "Baka." A mob spawned, and without looking, I used a [Linear] to kill it. She grabbed my hand, and we walked out. As soon as we were out,I took my hand out of hers, and held her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "I need a few days to figure myself out. I promise I won't do anything stupid, but I want a few days alone." She looked slightly pained, but nodded. I walked to the gate, looked at her, and smiled. I went to one of the lower floors. Once there, I found a tree and fell asleep. I woke from a scream. I rushed towards it, to find five players battling a field boss. All of their HP were in the yellow. So I rushed the boss. Of course, my being a front liner, I had to be around level forty (I am forty six), so a floor fifteen field boss was easy to take on, especially with my buffed speed. After annihilating the boss, the group stared at me, and then cheered. I blushed at the attention. The leader, Keita, walked up to me. He was tall, and had a confident stance. He had brown hair and eyes. He held out his hand with a smile. I shook it, and he said "We must treat our savior!" And the led me to the nearest town. We entered an inn, grabbed a table, and I learned the rest of them.

Tetsuo was the forward, he was the tank of the group, but the only one. He was kind, not outspoken, but definitely not shy!

Sesamaru was one of the two attackers. Easy going and cheerful, he was also moral support

Then there was Ducker. He was the thief. He preferred "treasure hunter", but he was a thief at heart. Blonde, blue eyed, like me, but he was outgoing, and always tried to joke around playfully.

Keira was their leader. It was obvious he cared for the guild members like family, and would do anything for them. His goal was to fight on the front lines.

And, finally, there is little Sachi. Black haired, green eyed, she was a doe. She was very shy, but knew how to use her spear! We finally got our food, and Keita stood. "Cheers to Tryth! He saved us, and we wouldn't be here without him!" And everyone raised their glasses. We ate, drank, and had a good time. Finally, the blonde named Ducker, asked "Hey, since you obviously know what you are doing, could you help train us? Maybe join the guild?" This earned him a smack on the back of the head from Keita, and many apologies.

"Actually" I said, making everyone freeze, "I don't think I would mind that at all. You want to go to the front lines, so, well, I will help you get there!"


	9. Chapter 9-Blood Moon

**to those who have written a review. I am very grateful for it it really helps. To thunder WolfThanks to those who have written a review. I am very grateful for it it really helps. To Thunderwolf7226:**

 **Thanks for the continued help you are pretty much writing the story for me at this point ha ha Ha. Seriously thanks though a lot of us I couldn't do without you.**

 **And yes the name of this chapter is a reference to the guild who dies.**

How could I say no to them? They had a dream, and I needed time. Besides, maybe they can help me forget…. maybe we can be a family….

Their smiling faces told me I was much wanted. Keita sent me the request, and without hesitation, I accepted. They cheered, well, most of them, Sachi just smiled happily, which, I guess, is her way of jumping for joy. I decided to buy our rooms for the night, which, was a really big suite, with multiple rooms branching off the main one. All of us slept soundly.

The next day, we went back to that boss they were trying the day before. The strategy we used was me up front dealing tons of damage, with Tetsuo taking all damage that the boss would normally do against the others. When it was at its last bar, I would let the others take over. We did this for all the stronger mobs we found. For the weaker ones, I would let them do all of the work. They leveled up fast, by the end of the first week, they were all in the twenties, with Sachi at twenty one exactly. She was an avid spear user, but had a tendency to shy away when danger presented itself. Although, as long as I was watching, she seemed confident, like she was in invulnerable. We all quickly got used to our fighting styles, and I have been told off for blindly rushing into battle, but we laughed it off. We were happy. I had no more nightmares, I felt like I belonged, and like I could actually protect them, and keep them from ending up like…. no, don't think of it, it's not a problem anymore, I shouldn't think of that, I don't want to be depressed.

Apparently, my face betrayed my emotions, because Keita walked up to me and gave me a look. The others were busy fighting a pack of mobs, but I knew they could handle the pack easily. "Hey, what's up?" He asked, leaning against the tree I was already sitting on. I hesitated for a moment, before deciding not to reveal my past. I don't want them to hate me. "Nothing, just thinking". I kept watching as the mobs were hacked down, one by one by the Moonlit Black Cats, who did have some trouble, but I knew they could take it. He didn't seem convinced. "Dude, you need to be able to trust me with everything! Just tell me what's wrong" he said almost pleadingly.

I sighed, "Sorry, I can't talk about it… if I do… I don't know what will happen." I saw the. Have a lot of trouble with a mob, so I hopped off the tree limb I was on, jogged towards them, and lent a hand.

That night, I went grinding. I leveled up a little, not much considering the weak mobs, but enough for now. After I killed the last one, I heard a ding. I opened my PM alerts, and I saw one from Keita. It read:

"Hey, Sachi has gone missing, and with your speed I thought you would be able to find her quickly. The rest of us are going grinding at a weaker spawn point. Thanks in advanced!"

I read it twice, and felt the fingers of fear start to grab at my heart. Oh come on! I already have to babysit these people! Now I have to go find one of them, probably because she doesn't think she is good enough! Just my luck! I soon squandered these thoughts though.

I dashed towards the nearest town. Anything in my way became instant blue polygons as I one hit all obstacles that I could actually kill. I dashed throughout the town, calling out Sachi's name. After going across the same bridge for the fifth time, I slowed, panting from running so much. As I was about to start again, but at a different town, I heard a stifled sob. I stopped at the sound, and it was accompanied by another. I lept below the bridge to see Sachi against the wall crying. Inwardly, I sighed, outwardly, I put on a mask of empathy.

I sat next to her, and we just sat there for a few minutes. After a while, I put my arm around the girl, and she buried her head into my shoulder. Argo is going to kill me, was my first thought, my second was, nah, she will understand.

"Hey, what's up?"I asked. She gave a few moments before answering. She took her head out of my shoulder, and her tear stained face destroyed my mask, and put true empathy there. Poor girl…

"I am terrified. I thought that by joining a guild I could get rid of my fear, but it hasn't, then I thought maybe by winning mob fights, it would end, but it didn't" she continued crying. Then she continue, "I am terrified of dying. Think of that! I want to be on the front lines, but I a, scared of fighting!"

She then hit my shoulder with her head. It hurt, but I didn't react. I decided now is as good a time as any. "Hey, you are not alone. I am absolutely horrified by fighting. I am scared I will die, or someone else I care about will die again" shit, I said 'again'.

She looked me in the eyes. "Really? You have lost someone?" She asked.

Well, shitshitshit shitshitshit. Fine, I will tell her.

I spoke slowly,trying to keep my composure, "On the first floor boss, my little sister, seven years old, died protecting me. My younger brother, fourteen, died trying to avenge her. My older sister then committed suicide IRL. My parents, and all my older relatives, died in a building bombing years ago." There, I got it out.

She had stopped crying halfway through. She now stared at me with the same emotion I was giving her a moment before. We both hugged, and cried together.

We went back to the inn we were staying at, and went to our separate rooms. I sat studying a floor and the mobs/bosses on it. I heard a faint tapping at the door. Knowing who it was, I called out "Come in, its unlocked" Sachi opened the door, holding a bed sheet and pillow timidly. "Could I…. maybe… umm….." I knew exactly what she was going to ask, so I patted the bed beside me. They were king size beds, so there was easily enough room for the both of us. Now, Argo is going to kill me. She sat there, and looked at her legs shyly. I decided to break the tension. I closed the HoloSphere, which was a small, fist sized ball that portrayed a map of the floor it is preset to. I slipped it into my inventory, and grabbed the shy girl, eliciting a surprised squeak, and curled up on the bed. She sighed with comfort. She was warm. I felt all the contours of her body. We slept blissfully.

The next day, we were in the common room of the suite. I was briefing them on the labrynth we were raiding today. It was a machine based floor, so, blades won't be as effective. Shield bashing, and the flat of the blade, and other blunt attacks will be a better option. We all nodded at one another, and set off. As we near the labyrinth we got nervous. As we near the labyrinth we got nervous. Space backspace with tension filling the air, we stepped foot within the walls of the metal labyrinth.

"Do you think we will be all right?" Asked Sachi. I nodded my confirmation. The monsters were easy to slay, but took teamwork. Even I had some difficulty killing some of them. We drifted on leveling up slowly and gaining items from the kills. Suddenly, our Thief, Ducker, spied something on the walls. He went to investigate, thinking that something might be up, as it turns out when he placed his hand on the wall, the wall opened up to reveal a secret room.

Everybody clambered to get inside, leaving me a poor view of the room. Once everybody was in though, I saw a single treasure chest in the center of the room, obviously untouched when the raiding party came through. "Oh yeah score" said our thief. He went to go open it, but as I stepped inside, the whole room flash red. I turned around to try and leave, but our entryway was already sealed off. I turned around and told everybody to get into my circle back to back. We got into a circle and then monsters started spawning.

I gritted my teeth "come on, let's kill these rust buckets!" Somebody shouted. The monsters attacked, being made up of metal puppets, really marionettes to be honest. But they were still hard to kill especially since my attacks were sharp based, and dull attacks are more efficient against these kinds of monsters. They came at us with blinding speed, it seemed only I had the reaction time necessary to beat them. Within minutes of the battle starting, I heard the sound of breaking glass, signaling a friend's death. I gritted my teeth and shouted a wordless battle cry as I charged at some of the monsters. More breaking glass as more friends died. I had hoped this battle would be over quickly, but for every Marionette that I killed many more took its place. Finally I turned around to look at my comrades and see how they were doing. Only Sachi was left. I yelled A warning as a monster appeared behind her, and stabbed her right to the stomach. I saw her health bar dropping quickly. I screamed as I try to rush through the Thicket of bodies, in vain. I saw her mouth something before she died but I could not make it out. In a Blind fury, I started hacking and slashing and slicing and stabbing in swinging in trying to kill everything around me. I was successful in taking no damage. They came and they came and they came, but I attacked faster, and faster and faster and faster. I would not let these people, who I considered family, die unavenged. I attacked as fast as physically possible, with my massive speed stat. I had to fight if to save myself and not anybody that I loved, for they had already died. Eventually they stop coming, as I destroyed the last of them. The treasure chest itself held nothing, it was empty. I stumbled from the room exhausted from fighting. I made my way to the inn


	10. Chapter 10-The Pain

**thanks for the continued support!** **Oh, I changed my rating from "t" to "m" because of this chapter. There isn't any sex, but it gets very explicit. Otherwise, this is a summary of a few chapters past.**

 **thanks again, thunderwolf7226!**

Argo was busily PMing people when a knock on the door startled her. very annoyed, she walked towards the door, wanting to know who disturbed her, when she had a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. She pulled the door open, with an angry look on her face, that quickly turned into surprise, and then to inquiry. The figure at the door looked like Tryth, but looked as though the soul had been sucked out of him. I stumbled into the room, and sat heavily on the bed. Argo sped to my side, with concern now on her features. My heart didn't feel the same. Not the same when she grabbed my arm, it didn't even flutter when she started caressing it. I sighed heavily. "What's wrong?" She asked, knowing me too well. I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn't form the words. I hugged her fiercely, and started crying into her shoulder. Angelica took this as the best time to walk in saying "Hey Argo, have you seen Try-" and she cut off when she saw the horrid state I was in, and when she realized I was crying again. She walked over, and started rubbing my mid/lower back, as Argo got the upper and head. Argo shushed the both of us, and continued to serve as my personal tissue for over twenty minutes. After those minutes ticked by, and I was just sobbing without tears, I finally lifted my head.

"Why are you always here for me? Aren't you getting tired of me in this sorry state?" I sniffed out. Argo continued caressing my back and arm, while Angelica stood, and dominated my view. "We care, that is why! You should know that you would be there for Argo, no matter what, so why question the people who feel the same for you?" I couldn't argue with that logic. I seem to have gotten used to the feel of Argo's shoulder, knowing just how to position my head to keep her and my head from getting sore. I tried to bury my head back into her shoulder, mostly because I still felt horrible, but she surprised me (and Angelica) by moving back slightly, and pulling my head down to rest on her chest. I didn't see this exchange, but, Angelica saw where Argo put my head, and raised her eyebrows as a blush went up Argo's cheeks. Though she managed to keep a straight face, and continued stroking my hair. I started crying again, less fiercely than before, but still sobs. I soaked the front of her shirt in a few minutes, but by then, I had calmed down again.

"Th-th-thank you t-two. I don't d-d-deserve such g-g-good friends" I mumbled into her chest. So this is what that feels like, thought Argo.

"No, you don't" was Argo's reply. I lifted my head, and looked into her deep purple eyes, and continued, "I don't deserve such a good person as you, Argo. Please, don't leave me" she knew I was telling her to not die, and she smiled, "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried!" At this, I gripped her in the strongest hug I could. "Thank you" I whispered into her ear.

"So, what happened?" Argo asked.

I released her, and stared at my legs, organizing my thoughts.

"I was basking in the sun, when I heard noises of fighting. I went to it, and saw five players trying to kill a field boss. The only tank was low on health, and the three attackers heavily damaged too. I dashed up, and soloed the boss, saving them" at this I stopped. I didn't want to finish, but I knew they would press on.

"And?" Prompted Argo.

"And they offered to buy me dinner, of course I accepted. We sat in there, laughing, talking, having a good time, when one of them asks me to join their guild, the Moonlit Black Cats. I again, accepted, and everyone was happy. I helped level them up, because their dream was to be fighting on the front lines, like me, and I wanted to help them. Then, one of the members, the only girl ran away. After tracking her down, I found out she was scared of fighting. After confessing it myself, she slept next to me in my bed. (This made Argo's eyes raise in suspicion) nothing happened, she just wanted to sleep next to me, because she thought I could protect her. They got up to twenties, when they decided to go into a labyrinth that they weren't ready for. The mobs were easy enough, but one of them found a secret room, which, when we all entered, closed off, and we couldn't teleport out." I paused again, feeling the tears threaten to well up. But, before anyone could interject, I continued with a shaky, cracking voice. "We had to kill all of the mobs, but there were so many. They weren't that strong, but with so many, it was very difficult. Th-th-then… the first guild member died" they gasped. I took a moment, and tears started yet again, down my cheeks, "The sound of breaking glass piercing through to us all. We fought with renewed vigor, but the died in succession, very quickly. It was just me and the girl left. We fought for a long while, and… and...and…"

"Shhhh, it's okay. You don't have to say it if you don't want to" comforted Argo. "It's okay. Calm down."

I shuddered, but continued, "She died as I ran to her. I can still hear the sound of the breaking glass as she died. She must have felt so betrayed, because I said I would protect them, and they died and I lived."

After a few more sobs, and more comforts from Argo, Angelica said "Ok, I can't take it anymore!" She grabbed me, and with her massive Str stat, she lifted me to my feet. She then slapped me so hard, I landed on my ass, dumbfounded.

"She fell in love with you, and she couldn't get anger at you for any reason!" Scorned Angelica, "She felt the same way I, or Argo feels. She knew you couldn't save her, but was probably happy when she died knowing that you got to live. She died happy! Not angry!" She hugged me to take the mental sting from her slap. My face still hurt, but I can take physical pain. I looked up to her as I digested this development. She didn't hate me? Felt happy cuz because I got to live? She loved me? It makes sense now.

"You were too busy staring at Argo's chest to figure it out, huh?" She teased. I felt a blush keep up my face, and I didn't have to look and the Rat to know she was probably looking the same. "You two are a pair of horny rabbits!" And she walked off to her own room.

Argo and I sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. "Is my room still open?" I asked, breaking the ice.

"No, the place is packed for some reason or other" she answered.

We sat for a while before I stuttered, "Would you mind if… you don't have to say yes… it's all up to you…" I glanced at her eyes, and I saw a smile, a smile from pure pleasure and contentment.

"I thought you would never ask" she replied, that foxy tone back in her voice, "I didn't know you wanted to get into my bed so badly, Tryth. Maybe you are a horny rabbit!" She giggled at my obvious discomfort.

"Rat" I muttered, looking away. "I meant actually sleep. I feel safe around you, I feel like no one can touch me. I didn't mean… the other thing" I said, carefully picking each word.

" Oh, so I'm not good enough for you?" She demanded, with raised eyebrows.

"Girls! You are the only species that can turn a phrase where I am trying to sound mature, and not, as you put it, like a horny rabbit!" She kept grinning.

"Whatever" I growled. "I'll go find a tree to sleep in." Two can play at that game!

"You-you feel safe around me?" She sounded dumbstruck. "You feel, whole?" She asked.

I nodded without hesitation. "I feel complete, I feel better than I ever have. I feel like I can forget… forget the past around you" I may have nodded confidently, but my voice was sheepish. I felt her body leave the bed as the slight dip in her direction eased up. I heard sounds of armor unequiping. I glanced up and saw…

I saw Argo the Rat wearing very little. I every contour of her body, every nook and cranny. All of her perfect curves stood out against the moon. She was standing up to the window facing me, arms over her chest, even though she still had a bra on. "Stop staring, you are creeping me out" I blinked several times, as though this wasn't real, just an image plastered to my eyes. Her perfect legs strolled to me. She leaned seductively over me, pushing me on my back. "That kiss, in the forest a few weeks ago? When you were depressed again, and I kissed you to make it better? That was my first kiss" she said. I grinned. "Mine as well" I said. I looked at her face, perfect to me. She was so beautiful, I couldn't describe it. She leaned in, and pressed her lips against mine… it felt so surreal, like a dream I might wake from at any moment. Then I felt something wet press against my lips. I opened my mouth and let her tongue enter my mouth. Her hand grabbed mine, and without looking, she opened my menu, and turned on [Manual Clothing] basically, she can now strip me to her heart's content.

She took off my cloak, and my shirt in rapid succession. She then ran her fingernails over my arms and chest, eliciting a slight shiver and moan from my lips. She lifted me into a sitting position, and sat in my lap, stalling it. All the while, her hands were at work caressing my back, making me moan further. She then simultaneously unequipped her last shreds of clothing and my pants. Sadly, guys don't have anything under the pants, so I was there in all my glory. She licked her lips, then ran her tongue across my torso, making me convulse. She flipped, making me on top, and her below. I kneaded one of her breasts while sucking the other, she groaned loudly from this. Good thing that no noise goes through walls or a few minutes of this, she flipped to back on top, them prepared herself for the final step and…

I pulled away, and hurriedly put my clothes back on.

She looked startled and hurt. "What's wrong?" She asked.

I looked shamefully at her, "I can't go that far, not yet, sorry.".

She laughed, "No biggie. Hell, usually it the girl saying that!" I chuckled form this.

She patted the bed next to her, still fully nude. I sat down awkwardly.

"There is something weird about being completely naked in a bed with a guy fully clothed. Take it off. All of it. Now" she commanded. So she wouldn't reprimand me, I did as I was told, and I slid beneath the covers. She pressed her body up against mine. She seemed to fit perfectly, her head tucked under my chin. She seemed like the perfect size. We lay there for a while, taking each other in, when she unexpectedly asked "Do you find my breasts a little…. small?" Startled, I leaned away from her. She was blushing profoundly, but seemed intent on getting an answer.

"Yes, I do" I answered honestly, "but, let me continue. Big breasted women usually have no personality or brains, or neither. Small breasted women usually are the nicer, and better choice" she seemed satisfied. "Besides, I cannot think of any word, or string of words to describe how beautiful you are, inside and out." She blushed more, and buried her head in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and prepared for sleep.


	11. Chapter 11-the Dragon Tamer

**thank you again thunderwolf7226. And yes, I am going to say that every chapter I remember to! Dear faithful readers, sorry if this is too close to the canon, I will try to switch it up with his meet with Lisbeth.**

 **also, don't forget to follow, review, or PM me!**

That was one of the best times of my life. With Argo, I slept soundly, unafraid of the nightmares that usually plagued me. We were happy together. We almost never leave each other's side for more than a week, and always PMed at least once a day. I was walking away from a lower floor dungeon (the front lines were on floor forty nine), happy with the XP and col I got from the boss. I was content. I have all but forgotten the pain of my family, and when I thought of them, I didn't hurt inside. Wow, I thought, Argo has worked some kind of miracle.

There was a floor boss raid meeting today, and I didn't want to miss out! Argo has taken up pretty much nothing. During raids, though, she runs healing potions to those that need them, and when she isn't needed, she throws knives at the boss's weak spots, doing her part. I got a PM before I entered the gate, it read:

Sender: Argo

Message: Hey, there is a guy outside of the town here, hassling front liners, says it's important, and has to do with PKers. Check it out, ok? Thanks!

She knows how much I loath PKers. They seem to either not understand that this was a game, or they just loved killing. Ever since they became a problem, even I leveled up my HP somewhat, putting me over 2000 health. I prepared a PM.

Sender:Tryth

Message: Yup, on it.

I was outside of the front line town, staring at the man. He approached me, with a look of desperation, and asked "Are you a Clearer? Please you have got to help me!"

I asked what was up, and he explained.

He used to be the leader of a guild called Silver Flags. After they raided a lower dungeon, they were attacked by some orange players, a guild called Titan's Hand. This took place on the thirty fifth floor. After he made it to this floor, he spent the rest of his money on a Gate Crystal. This allows for the teleportation of multiple people. They are very rare, and way more expensive than the already pricey Teleportation Crystal. He handed me the crystal, and requested that the perpetrators go to prison. He didn't want them dead, just jailed. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I nodded. After taking his crystal, I set off towards the town Gate.

I arrived at the forest floor of thirty five. Trees trees and more trees. The towns though, were in clearings. I was in one of these, and I set out to find these Titan's Hand members. This would be hard, I should have thought about this before accepting. My tracking skill is virtually non existent. Well, I can always just keep running until I find something, right? Oh well. I ran, I am really fast, and since I have kept my new blade, I have gotten way faster. Since then, I haven't worried about my Agi stat anymore, and I focused on my Cri. This allows my newfound critical change to be at an even fifty percent! This makes me so OP, with me HP now at 2050,so, it's really hard to kill me, and I can solo most bosses.

I ran for over two hours straight, and found nothing. I stopped by a tree, to rest, panting heavily, when I heard it. A scream right in front of me. It sounded like a young girl. Shit. I dashed in that direction. If anyone looked, I would have seem a blur, unable to be tracked by the eyes. I heard the sound of a something dying, and I gritted my teeth. Please be okay!

I burst into a clearing with four [Drunken Ape] mobs in a semicircle. I easily one hit all of them, and when they died, I say a little girl crying. She was short, not that old. She had blonde pigtails tied with red ribbons on either side of her head. She had an adorable little face, with two cute red eyes. She was sobbing, holding a single blue feather. I looked puzzled, and she said "Pina…" she repeated this over and over again. Oh, she had a familiar…. probably named Pina…. and it probably sacrificed itself to protect its master… damn, this is traumatizing for a little girl.

I did the only thing I could think of, I sat beside her, and hugged her, placing her head under my chin, stroking her hair, and speaking words of comfort. She eventually calmed down, and she looked at me with sad eyes, "Sorry, you didn't have to save me" I chuckled. "Of course I did, where would you be if I didn't?" She looked like she was trying to be strong, but failing. I sighed.

"There is a way to bring your pet back…." I started. She peeked up at this and looked interested to say the least.

"It's on the forty seventh floor. It's a dungeon called The Hill Of Memories. It has a pet revival item" I sighed "I would retrieve it for you, but the familiars' owner needs to be there." She looked down cats. Probably because she needs to be there, and it's way out of her league. I sighed. "But I can go with you and provide you with safe passage".

She perked up again, and asked, "Why would you do that for me?"

I looked her in the eyes, and replied with, "I know what it feels like to lose what you care about. I can't let anyone else go through that" she seemed to look at me with a new understanding, like she just got the idea that she knows me.

"We should set off" I said, uncomfortable with her look, "I will pay for our inn, don't worry about that" the expression she had earlier looked very similar to the one Argo gives me… I didn't have time to ponder this though, because while we were going towards an inn, a redhead stopped in our way. She had a cocky look, and a very low cut shirt, exposing everything for all to see. "Well, hello Silica, how are you?" She drawled with false politeness. The little girl seemed to cower behind me, away from her.

Flashback

Sender:Tryth

Message: Hey, Argo, do me a favor and tell me everything you know about the guild Titan's Hand.

Sender:Argo

Message:They are an orange guild who PK. They prey on the weaker people, and keep their items to pawn off later. They should be hiding on the forty seventh floor. Their leader is a narcissistic redhead by the name of Rosalia. This is going to cost you Tryth!

Sender:Tryth

Message: I will pay, don't worry.

The present.

I grinned confidently at the woman before me. She kept talking, "Oh, she has seduced another player, huh?" My smirk deepened.

"No, Rosalia, leader of Titan's Hand, she didn't. We are partying together to get a rare item, to revive her dead familiar." She barely twitched when I stated who she was, and it was almost impossible to notice the twitch, but it was there.

"You must have me mistaken!" She said with a laugh. "How could two low level players like yourselves hope to take on floor forty seven?"

Ahhh, right. She thinks my longsword is a beginner weapon.

"Oh, we will manage" I said, and then pulled Silica away, towards the inn. I noticed she was trembling, but I didn't point it out.

We sat down at a corner booth, and placed our orders.

She was still shaking, so I said "If you need to talk, I am here".

She gave a nervous laugh, "I don't want to burden someone I just met"

Inwardly, I groaned. This sounds like me. Oh, well.

"Hey, trust me, I know from personal experience that talking about your emotions. I had to do that in order to get better" she seemed to hesitate, before finally giving in to my suggestion.

"She is a total….. arg!" She obviously is not used to cursing. "We were in a guild together, and she was alway talking about herself. I was known as the Dragon Tamer, since I am the only one in the game. They wielded me like a mascot. That's all I am wanted for, people keep taking advantage of me." I paid for the meal, and our rooms, and we went to bed.

The next day, I gave her the col to go buy some new armor., and we set off for floor forty seven. It was covered in flowers, flowers everywhere. Flowers on walls, flowers on fountains, flowers on the path. Then I noticed…. everyone here but us we're holding hands! They were couples! I hope no one tells Argo that I was taking a younger blonde girl on a date to floor forty seven. She would so flip off the handle, and it would probably end up with her an orange player, and me with one health point.

We enjoyed the sights while walking, she enjoyed the scents, smelling every new flower that popped up. We reached the bottom of a hill, and a message appeared for both of us: [Hill of Memories dungeon]. We continued.

"So, Tryth" asked Silica, "Anyone special in your life?"

I looked puzzled at her, when a tentacle snaked around her leg, and pulled her high into the air. It was a massive flower, but, instead of a bud on the flower, there was a massive sour with many many many teeth. One of her hands moved to keep her skirt from going down (or up? Ok, towards her head), and she screamed "Tryth! Save me! Don't look, but save me!" This is going to be a long day.


	12. Chapter 12-Titan's Hand

**thanks again for the support! Pls review, like, follow, favorite, or PM me!**

I started getting a conscience a few hours in. I had to tell this girl I am using her as bait….. but I really don't want her to hate me…. what do I do? There was a mini boss, with three health bars. I struck it twice, to guarantee a critical hit, and took down over half of one bar. Surprised, I struck until its health was low enough for Silica to manage. She defeated it with a laugh, and a whoop as she leveled up again. She was doing that quickly, but who can argue? This was a floor tougher than her level. She should be able to level up per five or six kills. We continued in companionable silence, until, "Tryth?" She snapped me out of my trance.

"Wuddup?"

"Did you notice all the couples from earlier too?" When I nodded, she continued. "Well, I was wondering. You didn't answer my question from earlier, and, well…. do you have… umm… yeah… screw it!" She shouted, "Doyouhaveabyonespecialinyourlife?" She got out to quickly for me to understand. When I asked for her to repeat, she slowed down. "Do you have anyone special, like a girlfriend?" She looked rather hopeful…

I sighed. "I really didn't want to burst any bubbles, but yes, I do, and she means more to me than anything, and everything else, combined. If she asked me to die, I would do it without hesitation. If she wants me to dress in pink, I will. Whatever she wants." She looked so downcast….

I elbowed her, "Hey, you, don't look so glum! You really don't want me! I am seriously not the type for you"

She glared at me, "What? How am I not?! Is Rosalia? Huh? Those girls with big breasts? I bet your girlfriend really has a big pair! YOU DON'T KNOW MY PAIN!" She ran off ahead, arms crossed over her chest. "Girls" I sighed. Should I catch up? Nah, she will get attacked by another plant, and need me to save her… sigh.

I jogged forward, the nice me taking over. And, I did save her, from another plant, and it was the same type as the first. When she was let down, she mumbled a thanks, and walked beside me silently.

I broke the tension, "I hate big boobs. When girls wear low cut shirts, it looks like there is an ass plastered to their chest. Also, they flaunt their…. prowess in front of everyone, expecting to be liked just for the mass there. Me, I like small chested women. They usually have much more personality, and are less of a total bitch" she was stunned by this. So, he isn't a stereotypical guy! She thought. Hrmph.

"Hell, my girlfriend's chest really isn't that much bigger than yours." I really didn't know this was a big problem for her, having a flat chest. Hmm, there is more to girls than I thought. "To be honest, I am hoping that no one she knows is here, and tells me I was on a date with an adorable p, and cute young girl such as you". To this, she was taken aback again, but in a good way.

When Silica looked at the eyes of her protector, she thought, there is more to him…. something bad has happened in his past, and he has tried to bury it….

We walked on. She decided not to press so close, so people didn't think we were dating or anything. After killing another two bosses and many many many mobs, we reached the top of the hill. There was a stone pedestal…. but nothing was on it. Tears started to well up inside of her, when I gave her a push. The closer she got, the more a flower started to bloom right there, on the stone pedestal the [Pneuma Flower.. She plucked it, joy now bringing tears to her eyes. "Let's not revive your pet here, we don't want the mobs to try and kill her again!" I said. She nodded, and placed the flower in her inventory.

Three bosses and god-knows-how-many mobs later

We were about to cross the entrance bridge, when, I stopped and held out my arm to stop Silica. She look inquisitively at me, and I placed a finger to my lips.

"Isn't a lovely day, Silica?" I asked as I PMed her.

Sender:Tryth

Message: Members of Titan's Hand are hiding behind the trees

After she finished, she looked at me wide eyed, and said "Oh, yes, Tryth. It's even better because you are with me!" I faintly heard retching from a tree.

"Oh, I didn't know a tree could throw up! Dudes, you aren't fooling anyone. I can see a player cursor from in between limbs. You don't need a detection skill for that easy shit"

A familiar redhead stepped out from behind a tree. "Wow, mighty perceptive you are" said your neighborhood friendly PKer, Rosalia.

I smiled, and using my arm that is still held out, pushed Silica behind me slightly. I am very protective of my friends, for obvious reasons. "When you live life like I have, you learn a few things. Like, I can have a conversation with any girl, and almost always figure out if they are leaving a trap for me! That is the real accomplishment!" I said.

"Enough small talk, hand over the flower, and I won't be forced to kill you two" she said menacingly enough.

I started laughing maniacally, and odd glint in my eyes. Oh my flapping god! Thought Silica, he is letting his anger boil over!

I laughed for a good three minutes, tears coming to my eyes, "Kill us, good one. That's the best joke I have heard in awhile, thanks Rosalia, I really needed that" she seemed really pissed at that.

"Come out" she said, and seven heavily armed players came out. I laughed harder, actually being driven to my knees. A hand on Silica's shoulder to keep my from flopping of the ground, I said, "You think you can take me? I had thought you would be bigger! Math just seven of you to fight, this will be easy!" I kept my hysterical laughter.

"Uh, boss, I think that is the Beater, you know the legends! Can move faster than sound, he looks like a blur when running! Router even says that-"

"Shut up nincompoop!" Rosalia interjected, "You are all level forty five, and there are seven of you!" This made me laugh more. Even I was getting annoyed by now, but I couldn't stop, "Only level forty five?" I said between gasps, "Silica would give me a better warm up!" I finally got control of myself, and stood. A serious face now. I stepped forward, halfway across the bridge, and said, "Let's get down to business, you killed a guild known as the Silver Flags. Well, one survived, and he gave me a Gate Crystal to ensure you go to prison for your crimes!"

Rosalia snarled, "Kill him!" She demanded, and her seven lackeys sprang into action, slicing into my from all sides. Just one problem, I, without moving my feet, was blocking all attacks driven at me. They stood in a circle around me, panting. "Wow, you seven should really work out! I could keep going for hours!" They grimaced.

"We won't go!" Said Rosalia, planting her foot firmly on the ground. To her, I must have teleported. I stood in front of her, my hand about a yard away from her. It was the hand that was threatening, it was the five feet of black steel attached. "Look into my eyes, you bitch. Do these look like the eyes of someone who gives a flying fuck if he plays orange, or even red for the rest of the game? I don't. In fact, I would rather kill you, but, I made a promise." They shuffled through the Gate I created, into the prison on the first floor.

We walked back to the inn, in silence. Once in the room, Silica placed the blue feather on the table, and took out the [Pneuma Flower]. She turned it over, and a single drop of water descended from the petal onto the feather. After a brilliant flash of light, a little blue dragon named [Pina] stood in front of us. "Kyunn" it said, caressing Silica's cheek.

She grasped me in a crushing hug. "Thank you" she whispered. She backed up, and continued. "When we first met, you said that you understand what it means to lose what you love, you want to talk about it?" She saw a flash of…. grief? Depression? Something like that, flutter across my eyes. My eyes lowered to the floor, but, I had to. I trusted this girl, and, talking helped me…

I sighed heavily. I explained everything, this time, without crying… I might finally be getting over this mess. She looked at me in major pity mode. She grabbed me in another crushing hug, and said "It's okay. I am here for you". I let us sit there for a while, before I disentangled her from me. "I don't want you getting any ideas, I really don't want my girlfriend mad at me" Was my reason, and she accepted it. Yes, we slept in the same bed, but nothing happened. We were friends, and we didn't give a damn what anyone else thought (except, I cared about what Argo would think, but what she doesn't know can't hurt her, right?). Of course, things got awkward when Silica grabbed my balls while she was sleeping.

 **who thinks Argo is going to find out? Hehehheeeeeeeee**


	13. Chapter 13- The Laughing Coffin

**thanks again to my fans, hope you like this chapter. Yes, I try and update everyday, but sometimes my schedule doesn't allow for that, and I'm sorry in advanced.**

I parted with the little girl known as Silica shortly thereafter. She was sad to see me go, but I promised to see her again in the future. But before, we exchanged real names. Hers was Keiko, Ayano Keiko. We hugged, and left, with her little dragon Pina "Kyunn"ing after me. I arrived back on floor forty nine, the day before the boss raid. I knew my job, I just needed Argo to tell me when. Walking through the main town, to the inn we stay at, I put my thoughts together. It was very improbably that the famous info broker knew where I was, and why, but just in case she was told where, I needed to marshal my thoughts for and explanation.

I walked into the inn, waved to the player bartender, and walked up the stairs to the rooms. I'm reached the one we rented, and knocked. The door flew open, and a green caped Rat hugged me. "When you asked me for info on Titan's Hand, I was so scared about you taking on an orange guild!" She sobbed into my chest. I grinned, though she couldn't see me. I walked us both into the room, and closed the door.

"Your concern is touching, but I am the highest leveled player in the game, my speed is second to none, and I can solo all bosses from floor thirty five down! How could you be scared?" I peeled her off me, and I saw her face. I was one of the only people who knew that the whiskers on her face were just paint, but in the beta, she got them from the martial arts quest on the second floor. I found martial arts useless, considering my Str stat to be twenty now. She smiled slightly, and I continued, "But, I went to floor forty seven…" she cut me off.

"I know, you were with a little girl, about thirteen years old. Don't worry, I trust you not to do anything that would piss me off"

I obviously had a guilty look on my face, because she added, "Right?"

I sighed. Girls. "Well, we slept together…."

"WHAT?" For such a small woman, she can really yell! "AND WHY DID YOU? YOU PERVERT!" At this point she was punching my torso. I let the blows come, didn't try and block or dodge, and if I tried, she would never hit me.

"She was scared! And she loved me like you do! And we didn't do anything, just slept back to back. That's all" after a few more seconds, she stopped hitting me, and I was thankful, mostly because I felt like I was starting to develop cancer just from the repeated hitting.

"If that's all… and you did confess…" she seemed to ponder hitting me further, then she arrived at a decision. She looked sooo pissed, and raised her hand. I shut my eyes, and expected what was to come….. and…. I felt soft lips on mine. My eyes opened in surprise, to see her serene face, eyes closed in bliss. I closed mine, as her tongue begged for entrance into my mouth. I gave it what it wanted, and we stood there, kissing each other, and breathing each other in. When we finally stopped, and breathed fresh air, we were both smiling.

"I guess you didn't do anything wrong, mostly because I can't get mad at helping out someone else, regardless of gender" my grin deepened, I'm not in the doghouse! Yay!

We sat on the bed, and I told her the whole story. When I told her about me confronting Rosalia alone inside the town, and she raised an eyebrow.

"You are a dumbass! Revealing your hand before you bet?" I got the poker reference.

I smirked,"Oh, I didn't reveal everything. Just her identity. I still had my powers, and if need be, Silica's"

She shared my smile, all knowing how I fight when I have something to protect, which is why she attends the boss raids. I don't remember most of my fights with her around, I just reacted. Otherwise, I was just fighting.

We smiled, taking each other in, loving each other's company. She sighed.

"Here is the info for the boss raid…" and I shut her up, not caring.

"Let's take a vacation!" I said unexpectedly. She frowned at me.

"Ummm, why?" She asked slowly. She knows how much I love fighting, and that aside from her, it's what I love most.

"To take some time for each other! We need to spend some together, we barely know each other!" She seemed startled by this.

"But… we…. the front lines…. you are the best…. and… how would we explain it….. huh?" She asked.

I grinned, and kissed her, "Who gives a damn what they think? Besides, we can take a week off, and no one will be able to argue too much! The front lines have enough fight to clear this floor!"

"But you supply half the fight power!"

I smiled at the compliment, "I may be totally awesome, but, I am certainly not that good! If I was, I'm sure I could say 'no' to you!" She liked this, but, she wasn't convinced. I kissed her again, and she decided to say, "But if you are not so strong, how is it so hard to say no to you?" She seemed to have that blissful expression again, as she pressed her body against me. She layed back on the humongous ed, and patted her lap. I blushed, but rested my head there, facing out. She stroked my hair. It felt so soothing, and I soon drifted to sleep.

I woke in the same position, to something behind me dinging. I lifted myself up, rubbing my eyes wearily. We weren't in the inn room….

I looked behind me, and I saw Argo with six PM windows open. I know she is a talented broker, but, this is crazy.

"Argo, how did I get here? And, where is here?" I asked sleepily.

She looked at me, and smiled, "Hello sleepyhead! We are on floor forty seven!" This woke me up. The flower floor? Oh shit. "Umm, Argo? What are we doing here?"

My lack of comfort made her giggle. "You said we needed quality time, so I got Angelica to carry you here! We are officially on a long date!"

Shitshitshit.

I ran out of the room at top speed. I ran for as long as I could (at least an hour, I could have gone longer, but I was dashing my ass off!), and collapsed at the foot of the Hill of Memories, gasping for air to my starved lungs. Why did Kayaba have to add in the pain of my legs, and my lungs when I ran? This hurts like hell! It took ten minutes to finally get over the pain, and I sat up, very thirsty. I looked around, and saw a stream a ways away, so I got up, and started walking towards it. On the way, I slipped on something, and broke my ankle. Oh, come on! Now I am a sitting duck! I can still fight, but it will hurt, a lot. I limped/hopped to the stream, and lay down beside it, and shoved my head into the shallow water, and drank. When I had my fill, I stopped, and sat up. What I saw scarred me. There were four black cloaked figures, all hoods drawn down low. Their cursors were red, and that meant they killed players often. Damnit! My blood was boiling at the sight of PKers, but I kept a calm composure. "May I help you?" I asked them. One of them chuckled.

"Yes, oh yes you can help us!" Said the one on the right. He was scrawny, and medium height. "Give us that rare sword, and the location of Argo the Rat, and we won't kill you!" I gritted my teeth.

"Over my dead body!" I growled.

"That can be arranged" said the biggest one. He looked like a mountain of a man, but his cloak still hid his features from me. Somehow, they kept their HUDs from being displayed, so I couldn't learn their names. I blanched at the obvious threat, and from the pain my an,le is exhibiting.

"We don't need to hurt him, we need him alive! We were told that he is dating the Rat, so, it's only a matter of time before she comes to us!"

I stood suddenly, getting dizzy from the pain in my ankle, but I refused to fall. "Don't you touch a hair on her head!"

"Feisty little one" Sid the short one. He seemed the leader, as he was slightly behind the rest of them.

"What the hell do you want with Argo?" They laughed.

"She has something we want, some information, and, since we have you, we will get it!"

"Damn you!" I roared, and I lurched forward… and fell on my face.

"Janx, knock him out" said Shorty.

"Yessir" said Mountain Man, who I now know in Janx. I turned over, and saw his foot coming down, and I blacked out.

 **No, I am not going to kill Tryth. But, everyone else is expendable...**


	14. Chapter 14-Inside the Coffin

**how is this for noncannon! Hey, thanks again thunderwolf7226. You are a great help!**

I woke in a damp hard place. My eyes were covered, so I couldn't see. With a little movement, I realized a few things. First, my hands and feet were bound, second, my ankle healed itself. Third, I am laying down, fourth, I must be in a cave. I heard a faint drip...drip...drip… of water. Hmm, maybe floor twenty seven, there are a lot of caves in that floor. I squirmed around, and something jutted into my stomach.

"Quit ya fidgetin'" said a gruff voice, with a western accent. Hrmph.

"Maybe if you could let me see, I would be moving around to get my bearings!"

This comment earned another hit into my torso. Well, I was worth a try. I strained my hearing, but since I haven't really upgraded my Detection skill, I could only hear snippets.

"She…. few minutes… kill both?"

"No, we need them for now…. then kill the Rat"

Argo! They are going to hurt Argo! With renewed determination, but with discipline, I found a way to take off the blindfold. I placed my head on the ground, found a rock jutting out of it, and rubbed my head against it. What I saw after, confirmed my suspicions. I was in a damp cave, water dripping nearby into a small pool. I was in the center, and no one was in the same cave. This is obviously a cave system, so anyone could come through at any moment. They were smart enough to not tie my hands in front of me, but what they didn't know was that at the beginning of the game, you get to pick two skills to start with, and the ones I picked were One Handed Swordsmanship, and Acrobatics. This meant I was very flexible, and could jump higher and farther than normal. I was capable of bending my back, and untying my feet from behind. It was slow work, and every time I heard footsteps, I lay still on the ground, my head facing away from the entryway.

I finally got my feet untied, so I pulled my hands under my feet to take a look at this knot. Using my teeth, I got myself free. I opened my menu, and a ding happened, so I freezes. I heard "Did you hear something?" And the reply was, "You're hallucinating." I set my menu to silent, and fiddled with it. I couldn't send a PM, but that meant they couldn't either. I also pulled out one of my Teleport Crystals, but it didn't work either. In my inventory, I found my Shadow Reaper, and equipped it. Having the familiar weight at my side helped ease my heart rate. When you reach level twenty, you get a third skill, I had picked Hiding. I activated this skill, making me invisible to anyone with a Detection skill lower than my hiding skill. Quietly, I snuck down the cavern, looking for something, anything to give me a hint to get out of this dreaded place.

I reached another cavern, and inside of this one, were thirty or more black cloaked people, huddled together whispering. Then, something from the other side of the large open area caught their attention. I crept over there, and amidst all the bodies was…. a huge cloaked man holding a short person tied at the hands and feet with a bag over their head. I heard a steal from the figure being carried by the large man. Assuming he was Janx, I then made a connection. I almost gasped as I realized that is Argo he is holding. The prone, bagged, figure looks so unlike her… she always dominates everything she tries…. how the hell? Fuck this. I dropped my hiding skill, unveiling myself.

"Hey, fuck-faces!" The whole room turned to face me.

"Tryth? Is that you?" Asked blinded Argo.

"I will protect you, don't worry" I said.

A single figure approached, wearing the customary cloak of other people. "Do you know who I am?" He asked.

I gritted my teeth. "I am taking a shot in the dark and saying you are the leader of this orange guild" I said.

He chuckled. "I am, we are… Laughing Coffin!" As he said this, he lifted his right hand, and took off the glove, revealing the tattoo signaling him as an official Laughing Coffin member. My eyes widened. Oh, shitfest. They are the most famous murder guild, they have PKed numerous people. Those bastards!

"You are probably now wishing you still had that hiding skill enabled." I was, but I wasn't going to let it show, instead, let's strike fear into their hearts! I went max speed. I rammed my now drawn Shadow Reaper right through Janx's stomach. This forced him to drop Argo, who screamed, not knowing what is happening. I caught her in a bridal position, and ran away, max speed, second to none.

I dropped her off in a dark corner, and took the bag off her head. Her eyes widened when she saw me, then her eyes filled with tears. After I untied her fully, she wrapped me in a hug, and fiercely kissed me.

"They told me they got you, and would kill you…" she said.

"Argo, you have to focus, what do they want?" I asked, sounding calm, but I certainly didn't feel that way.

"I don't know, they said something about information" she said.

I heard footsteps, so I pulled her deeper into the crevasse. We were all but invisible, so as long as we were quiet, I could find a way out, and then come back for her.

"Listen, please Rat! Stay here, I am going to look for an exit!" I was about to take off, when she grabbed my hand, "I can't let you risk yourself for me!" She countered.

I smiled forlornly, "You know I am uncatchable. Let me do this. I won't let you get into trouble. Just stay here, I will be gone for an hour or two" I got my hand out of her grip, and activated my meager hiding skill. Let's do this. I set out, running, but not dashing. I needed to be able to react to anything that appeared in front of me. And I was a little tired from carrying Argo, though she definitely isn't fat, she looks anorexic, but I was just weak. I couldn't save Bronts. I couldn't save Alisha. I couldn't save Trisha. I couldn't save Sachi and the Moonlit Black Cats, but I will save Argo! Even if I have to die, she will be safe! No matter what!

I ran for hours through the winding twisting tunnels. I couldn't find anything except for Laughing Coffin members, and storage. They stockpiled food as though preparing for a siege. They also had storage rooms of items, definitely from PKing. I will kill them!

Any singular LC member I came across exploded in blue pixel polygons as I swept past, hitting three times on my way. By upgrading the Int stat, it levels up Critical chance and Critical damage, but ever since I maxed out my chance at fifty percent, I stopped upping my Int stat, and did my Cri Dmg stat. This meant, in three hits, where only one does critical damage, I can do over eight thousand damage, and with my speed, that makes me overpowered and broken. I could take out almost any player in three or four hits, dealing two critical, and around sixteen thousand damage, when most people's HP is at around nine thousand max. Mine was still at twoK, but I don't care about HP. I care about my speed and- My thought track was interrupted by another LC player. I laughed internally. This will be easy! I lashed out with Shadow Reaper, using three quick [Linear]s in a row. My Int stat also decreased cooldown for my Sword Skills. With my ain't stat maxed, my cool down is virtually non-existent. This was really handy, considering I only upgraded four Skills, my main one is [Linear], with its quick speed, second is [Crucifixion], which was a six hit combo. Hitting the right shoulder, where the neck meets the chest, and the left shoulder, then forehead, stomach, and every guy's weak spot. I can deal almost ten thousand Dmg with it, but I way prefer my [Linear]. I was about to end this guy's reign of terror, when he unsheathed his sword. I stopped moving. I had the gut-feeling that he could see me. I was correct when he swung right for me. I also learned something in my experience: if you use a Sword Skill to block or parry, then you don't need much Strength at all. "Hello little birds, protecting a smaller Rat are we? Well, where is our... friend?" He drew out the last word, telling me that they really really really not friends. Well, I will just have to kill him quickly before…

"Hey, guys! He is here! Our little-" he was rather rudely cut off by a few dozen [Linear]s to the face. Safe to say he is dead. I ran on as the sound of footsteps drew near. I dashed back to our little crevasse. I arrived to see an anxious Argo pleadingly looking at me. I shook my head. It's going to take a while before we get out of here.

 **Don't worry, (spoiler alert), they will get caught.**


	15. Chapter 15-Akihiko Kayaba

**well, this isn't cannon at all. Thanks again to thunderwolf7226, and to my newinst reviewer, Doomed! I am great full for the feedback, and I am rolling chapters as fast as I can type them!**

I was able to snag us food occasionally, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the constant hunger. After three days, I haven't found a way out of this hellhole. I dashed around for a few hours each day, then took the rest of the day, and that night, to rest for the next. We found out that the little crevasse was a lot bigger than we expected, almost fifty square feet was the fourth day that everything got fucked up.

I just came back from my daily exploration, but as far as I could tell, these caverns extended for the whole map. I saw Argo in our hiding spot, but when I walked into the small cave, I saw a LC member standing a ways behind her, with a rope tied to her neck, and a throwing knife in his hand. The next thing I saw was her health in the red. I wanted to run and save her, but he could throw that knife faster, and hit her before I arrive. Goddamnit! "Come on, little birdy. We want you alive!"

"You will have to kill me" I growled.

"How about I kill a certain Rat?" This made my blood go cold.

"You wouldn't" I breathed. I heard a sadistic laugh, and he jerked the rope, draining a little health, but she was already in the red, he does that again, she is dead.

"Let's go, little birdy. PoH want you." My already cold blood froze. I took a shot in the dark that said PoH is the leader, or really high on the totem pole. This is bad. I nodded, and he said "You will walk up front, do anything I don't like, I will kill your Rat".

I was walking with him directing me along the endless tunnels, being directed by the LC shitface. I was trying to memorize where all this was, but after the thousandth turn, I forgot everything. Instead, I focused on making a plan to rescue Argo. Maybe if I went to full reverse, turning and running at him at full speed he won't be able to react? Nah, judging by his footsteps, he is far enough behind me to prepare, and something was in those knives he threw that kept her health from regenerating, so if she sneezes, she could die. How the hell do I get us out of this? He directed me to this massive cavern. Must have been thousands of square feet for just the floor. Inside, were many cloaked people, presumably more LCs. They were standing in a loose semicircle, and there were A LOT of them. There was one figure standing in front of the rest. He stood straighter, and looked commanding. This must be PoH.

"Hello, children. Welcome to Laughing Coffin temporary HQ." he said, "I am PoH" he bowed in mock politeness. I growled, and decided to ignore common sense, and to give major attitude, "Well, hello sir, we are so happy to be here" I got a knife in my forehead for my trouble. It wasn't thrown by PoH, but by a lackey. "Watch your tongue when speaking to the Master!" I pulled out the knife, and was preparing to return it, with deadly accuracy, but I heard a yelp of pain behind me. I spun, and saw Argo on the floor, rubbing her neck. Janx was giggling. That bastard!

"People, people, let's not fight like children!" Said PoH. Good, now I don't have to kill them. "Let's be mature, and calm"

"Nice, coming from the head of a murder guild" I said, not learning my lesson. I hate PKers, so I couldn't help myself.

"Don't hate me, Tryth, I am not your enemy. The game is." He replied, not losing patience with me. Hrmph. "Besides, I want to speak to you privately." He said.

"Only if Argo is with me, and I can give her a health potion!" He nodded. I heard shuffling behind me, but I didn't turn from PoH. I felt a hand intertwine with mine. I fiddled with my menu, and gave her a potion. I saw her down it. Her eyes told me 'Thank you', probably because she knows that was my last one, so all we had was in her inventory, and my Shadow Reaper. Everyone else filled out.

"I am listening" I said.

He lifted his hood off his head. His face had a scare over one eye, and he looked like he was a really gruff man IRL.

"Finally, now, onto business." He said. "I want you to join us. I want your talent, and abilities. We could use you, and you could still be a clearer." This hit me like a deadpan. Holy shit.

"No fucking way" I said. "The Laughing Coffin guild wants little old me? Why? Just because I am the fastest player? Because I do the most damage per second in the game? Whatever could make you want me? I hate PKers!" I yelled, "Why the fuck would I join you? You threatened the thing I care about most, and nearly killed her! She is all I have, and you almost took her from me, and YOU WANT ME TO JOIN? FUCK YOU". My hands were clenched so tight, they were cramping. I was sweating heavily. My jaw was shut tight. I was tense all over.

"And we can take her away at any time" he whispered dangerously. "We own you, Tryth. Whether you know it or not, I own you."

I paled at this. My body got even more tense. "Tryth? Are you okay?" Argo asked, not understanding what I am feeling.

"I would take so many of you down before I die." I managed to get out.

"Tryth! Answer me! Now!" Said Argo sternly.

"Shut up!" I snapped at her. "You!" I continued to PoH. "You are a despicable bastard! You think-" he cut me off.

"So you don't care about the Rat? Interesting….."

I was shaking from tension and fear. How could someone be this evil?!

"I can't…. I have too…."

"Don't worry about me, Tryth" Argo said shyly. "I can take care of myself".

I looked at her.

As Argo looked at the person named Tryth, it seemed like she didn't know him anymore. "Tryth? Are you okay?" Argo asked, scared of this side of him. He was shaking, she realized, what is going through his head? What mind games is that bastard playing on him?

As Argo asked if I am okay, I answered truthfully. "No, I am not, I am really stressed right now, and am feeling weak and pitiful" she gasped at this, finally understanding. She knew that PoH threatened to take her from me, but she didn't know this. I looked back at PoH. "Can you guarantee her safety?" I asked. I got a nod in the affirmative. I sighed. "Then I-" I was cut off by someone leaping from behind me, and landing in front, facing the leader of LC. What the fuck? Who is this guy?

"Hey, sorry to crash the party!" Said Angelica, our savior. She had a one handed broadsword out, a new one I noticed. She turned back to PoH, and said, "I have no idea who you are, but, judging by the expression my best friend" she gestured to me, "I am guessing you are a real jackass." This made Argo laugh, and my girlfriend said "you got no idea". But Angelica continued, "So, let's fight. One v one!" I gasped.

"No, don't! He is PoH! The leader of Laughing Coffin the murder guild! You can't take him!" But she ignored my shouts, instead, she equipped another sword. Neither unequipped, so, she must have a unique dual wield skill! PoH laughed.

"So, the Cardinal System chose you? You are the best sword user?" He scoffed.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Angelica, puzzled.

"Oh, let me introduce myself… I am Akihiko Kayaba!" The

Is elected a gasp from all of us.

"I am the one hundredth boss!" He said. "Now that I have exposed myself, and the Cardinal system, which is the operating system that runs this game, chose you as the best sword user. The system thinks you undefeatable. This means, that you get to fight me… to the death."

"Deal!" She shouted. I could only watch. He raised a single knife, but he seemed deadlier than hundreds of her, but I knew not to underestimate her. She was nearly as good as me, and I won based off speed alone. She stood zero chance against him.

As I expected, it was over as soon as it had begun. She lashed out, both her swords gleaming with Skills. He dodged, with a speed that rivaled mine, and sliced her neck. Neck shots deal the second most damage in the game, headshots being the highest. The deadly thing about neck shots, is that they give a bleeding effect, where they deal damage over a period of time. Sad part is, the strike cut her to half health, and the bleeding was making it shrink, and fast. She tried to open her menu to down a health potion, but her menu didn't open. She looked scared. Her health was draining fast, and the couldn't do a thing about it, she had seconds to live. I opened my menu, and remembered…. I have no more HP potions! Shit!

"Hold on! Argo, get out a potion!"

She looked dumbfounded, "I don't have any, they took them all".

Then…. she burst into blue pixels.

I looked at Kayaba/PoH. "You bastard!" I drew Shadow Reaper, and rushed at him. He blocked, without grimacing. In fact, he smiled. "Something wrong Tryth? Something you can't stop? Like the death of another loved one?"

I roared, and struck as fast and hard as I could, going so fast, I had to cycle between [Linear], [Vertical], and [Slash]. "Now, are you going to give up your life Tryth? Just because of another player dying? You must be used to it by now!" I backed off after half an hour.

"Argo, pull out a TP crystal, now."

" it we already tried getting out that way! It won't work!"

"We are in the central area, I think that they teleport from here, and to here, that's why there isn't an entrance or exit."

"Smart little birdy" said Kayaba. "I will let you leave. I look forward to fighting you on the last floor"

We teleported out, and arrived at our inn, where I cried on Argo all night long.


	16. Chapter 16-The Blacksmith

**I really love you guys! Being so faithful not to ditch the story this far! Thanks for the dedication!**

"I am going to leave you, Argo". This was not what she was expecting.

"Why?" She asked, startled.

"Everyone close to me dies, horribly. I can't have that happen to you. You can't stop me this time. IRL, my name is Tryn. It is short for Trinity. In case… in case I die… make sure I am buried properly, please." She looked at me aghast. "And what makes you think I am okay with this?" She asked. I slammed my fist against the wall.

"Don't you see? I don't care if you are ok with this! I am keeping you safe, and that is all I care for! Don't try and argue, I won't change my mind!" I dashed out, and to the gate. Now I know I am not the fastest. PoH, aka Akihiko Kayaba is. I am not the strongest, Kayaba is. I am not best, Kayaba is. And he expects me to fight him on the final floor? How? I am a terrible Swordsman! I just know how to time my swings, so the system actually does the work! My fighting? I can't remember any of it! How in this fucked up god-forsaken game am I supposed to beat the god of it?! That is fucking idiotic!

Since we were gone, the front lines went far. We were stuck inside LC HQ for weeks. The front lines are now on floor seventy four. Almost to where I have to face Kayaba. My level was also falling behind, I am only level seventy nine, which is weaker than the other front liners. I really need to grind, and the best place for that is…. the labyrinth. I was gunning towards the mountain that was the labyrinth on this floor. Is the only reason that they kept me on the Clearing squad. Damn them! I will get stronger! I will become the best! No one will stand in my way! Not even Akihiko Kayaba!

Inside the black walls, and technicolor floors looked imposing, but I didn't care. I rushed past every mob, dealing tens of thousands of damage to each one, over killing each and every thing that stood between me and victory. Kayaba! This all his fault! It's his shit game that killed Alisha, and Bronts! And Angelica! You won't take Argo! I will not let you! You won't! I grinned for five straight days. By the end, I was level eighty seven, and exhausted. My sword was near breaking, so, I got a tip about a certain pink haired blacksmith. I walked into her shop, and saw swords and spears and maces lining the walls. I looked around, interest piquing. "Hello, welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop! How may I help you?" I turned to find a pink haired and eyes girl looking politely at me. She was wearing a red and white dress that ended right above her knees. Hm, I didn't think a blacksmith would look like this, but I will keep an open mind.

"I need something long, light, and hurts like hell when I hit something" she eyed me, up and down, making me feel uncomfortable.

"Well, then, here, try this!" She went behind a counter, and pulled out a long blue sword. It was shorter than mine, but looked good enough.

I grasped it, and swung it a few times. Hm.

"Certainly light enough, but, you have anything longer?" I asked. She shook her head. Hrmph.

"Well, can you make one?" Again, it looked like she was checking me out.

"Well, metal prices are high, and you need to go to a certain floor to get the metal, yeah" she said.

"Ha, I have no problem about price, let's just say my col is north of ten million." This made her gawk.

"Holy shit!" She exclaimed,

"Yup, and, tell me where this metal is, and I will go and get it!"

"You need a master blacksmith to be there, or else the metal won't spawn." Oh shit, I know what is coming next.

"So, I am going with you!"

Knew it. I was trying to formulate a way to say no, but couldn't find it. Hrmph.

"Ok."

"So, you think I can't handle myself? You think I'm wea- wait… what?"

"I said ok"

This seemed to startle her more than the amount of col I had.

"Well, let me close down the shop, and we will go!"

We set out for our destination, which was floor fifty five. Full of ice. Well, ok then. Good thing my cloak, while this, blocked out almost all cold. We were walking up the West Mountain, the home of a dragon said to have the metal. It eats crystals, and the metal forms in its stomach. Well. That's not odd at all. It was beautiful. The ice everywhere made the place glow with a peaceful light. The ice crystals jutted out of the ground, like fingers, but didn't seem like they were trying to grab us, more like that they were trying to give us beauty. "Wow" breathed Lisbeth. "If I wasn't so bloody cold, I would love this!" She shivered. I hate being a good guy. I looked through my inventory, but didn't have anything other than my cloak I had on. I hate being the nice guy. With a sigh, I threw my cloak at her. I heard her putting it on, and almost instantly, the chattering of ear teeth stopped. All I had was a flimsy short sleeve t-shirt, and heavy cotton pants. I was cold, but I didn't show it. We continued, looking for that damned dragon. Once we find it, I better kill it quickly, I don't want a drawn out right here, don't know if the game physics includes avalanches. We continued on towards the top, admiring the ice formations.

We were near the top, and I said, "Hey, Lisbeth, go hide over there while I take care of the boss". She looked like I slapped her in the face.

"Why? You don't think I am good enough?" She countered.

"No, I bet you are really good with the mace you use, I just don't want anyone to get hurt no matter what."

"I can look after myself!" She said, now annoyed. I snapped.

"JUST DO IT!" I yelled. We stood in silence. "Hey, sorry, just go over there" I drew my Shadow Reaper, and walked forward, waiting for it to come out. This floor fifty boss doesn't stand a chance against a level eighty seven player with a grudge against the game. It came out from the other side of the peak. I readied myself. It blasted this huge white stream attack. Hrmph, seriously? I used a [Slash], which was just enough to keep from taking damage. I really am starting to get pissed. It roared, and charged me. Oh, come on? Do I have to kill you, and not take my time? I need a stress reliever! I jumped at the advancing mob. A quick [Crucifixion] on the head took down a whole health bar, and some. Two more. It turned around, presumably to use that breath attack, which it did. I countered the exact same way as before, with a Sword Skill, taking zero damage. I am tired already of this. I used [Sonic Leap], and jumped right on its head. I did a few dozen [Linear]s. it lost the rest of the second health bar, and went into the red on the final one. One more attack, and I will win.

"Woohoo! Go Tryth!" Shouted the blacksmith from behind me. Shit! Am I the only one who understands how aggro works?! The eyes turned red, and it shot a white stream at the helpless smith. I jumped in the way, taking the hit, but ramming into her from the force slamming into my body. We went flying. Fuck! I realized that we were falling below ground level. Oh, great, not only are we going to take fall damage, but extra because of the height! Fuck life! I grabbed the screaming Lisbeth, and rolled myself under her. On the way down, I gulped a health potion. I hope that is enough to keep me from dying, with my meager HP.

And….. impact.

Ouch! Pain like I have never felt before zapped through my body, almost making me wish I had died instead. This fucking hurts! I groaned aloud.

"You okay, Lisbeth" I managed to get out without moving.

"Holy shit! Tryth! Your HP is in the red!"

"Whatever." And I lost consciousness.


	17. Chapter 17-Shadow Reaper

I woke up to find Lisbeth shaking me harshly. Damn, you trying to drain the rest health?! I sat up. Oh, god, I am sore, I thought. Damn, what I do? Fall from a cliff? "What time is it, Lisbeth"

"Ok, first, just call me Liz, second, it doesn't matter, we need to figure out where we are!"

I looked around. We were in a hundred plus foot deep hole. It was a good thirty feet wide, snow covering the bottom. Hrmph. It was night. I got out a sleeping bag. Might as well sleep!

"You just woke up, and you are going back to sleep?" Liz asked.

"Well, I wasn't out for that long, I'm guessing, because I am not rested at all, and, I need to rest for any battle that pops up." I laid down in it. I soon realized that it was getting colder. Both of us were freezing our asses off (she hasn't taken my cloak off, or pulled out a sleeping bag), so I pulled out some wood from my inventory, and lit it with some matches I got from a store on the first floor, run by the guy who stood up for the Beta testers so long ago. What was his name? Agil! That's it. Well, with a roaring fire, we got comfortable soon. "Hey, going to pull out a sleeping bag?" I asked the smith.

She looked pitifully at me, and said, "Umm, I didn't bring one". Again, I sighed heavily inside. I got out of mine, and threw it at her too. I hate being the nice guy. She curled in it without complaint. After a few minutes, she said, "Why did you yell at me earlier?". I hesitated telling her. After a while, I settled for, "Shitty personal experiences". She obviously wasn't complacent with this, but she didn't push further, for now. We sat there, before I heard her stomach growl, so, again, I opened my inventory, and brought out some bread and cheese. We ate a light dinner, her mumbling her gratitude. She got back into the sleeping bag. I layed on the snow, and was about to fall asleep when I heard "Tryth?". Oh, come on.

"Hmm" I rolled over to face the pink haired Liz.

"Would… you… ummmm. Don't take this wrong…. wouldyousleepinsidethebagwithme?" I deciphered the words in my mind. Oh, she said 'would you sleep inside the bag with me?'. I thought about saying no, but she added "Please?" And I couldn't say no to that. I slipped in awkwardly.i had her facing the fire, me away. She was so warm…. no! I can't develope feelings for someone else, everyone I love seems to die. I can't love anyone, and they don't deserve me as a shit friend. "Thank you" she whispered before drifting off. I laid awake for another few hours, shifting my thoughts into order, but finally, I succumbed to the rhythmic breathing of the other person in the bag, and the crackling of the flames. I woke the next morning. Liz beside me rolled over to face me as I sat up, getting my bearings. I remembered where I am and why I am here, so I stood up, went to the center of the hole, and looked up. It must be, oh, eight or nine in the morning. Oh, wait. I can check my HUD. Eight forty five. Hrmph. I don't have to wait long. "What are you doing?" Asked the blacksmith.

"Waiting for that dragon to come. This isn't a death trap, this is a dragon nest. Dragons are mostly nocturnal, so, this one will be back soon, and I will kill it, get the rare metal, and get us out of this hellhole"

"Well, that's a little much, isn't it? What can I do?"

"Stand away, and not aggro it."

She flinched, and my heart twisted to see her do that. Hey, why should I care? Why did I feel bad for bringing that up? Oh, well, no time for this now.

The dragon came over the entrance to the hole, a hundred feet above us. It rocketed downwards. I saw not all of its health had come back, just all the first bar! This will be too easy. I jumped, roared, and Skilled its ass off. Its health was reduced to zero in a matter of seconds. It exploded, and a crystal looking thing dropped into my hands. It was labeled [Rare Dragon Ingot]. Hrmph. I threw it at Liz, who stored it in her inventory. "What now, mister know-it-all? That dragon was our only way out of here!". She obviously doesn't know about my speed. Okay, let's have some fun. I knelt in for the OF her, facing away, my back turned to her. "Get on" I said.

"What? You going to [Sonic Jump] out of here?"

"Nope. I am going to run up the walls." After a few seconds of hesitation, I started getting impatient. "Do you trust me?" I asked. A few seconds later, she was on my back, arms wrapped tightly around my neck. Good thing she can't choke me. Since I upgraded my Str stat a little, she was almost weightless. I ran to the nearest wall, not even at half speed. "We aren't going to make it!" Liz shouted. I grinned,

I lept and… once my foot touched the wall, I pelted at max speed upwards, running as fast as that dragon can fly. Liz was screaming the whole time. I reached the top, and [Sonic Jump]ed straight up. We soared high, hundreds of yards up. Her scream of fear turned to one of delight as she saw the view. It was stupendous, the ice crystals forming numerous statues and pictures. It truly was stunning, as was the pink haired girl in front of me.

"Hey Tryth, I think I am falling in love with you!" She yelled. My heart skipped a beat. What? How can she fall in love with me?

"What did you say?" I asked. She hugged me, still in air, and replied "Nothing!"

In the air, we teleported back to her shop. She took the metal, and went to the back. I heard the endless pounding of hammer against metal as she did whatever smiths do in the game. After a while, she came back with a long and narrow box. "Tadah" she said, handing it to me. I opened it, to see a six foot long, inch wide, blade. It was so black, it made my Shadow Reaper seem as pink as her hair. "Wow" I breathed. I lifted it, and swung it. Light as a feather, with still some power to my swing. "Perfect" I whispered.

"Well, it has an ability. I haven't done this before, considering the percent chance of me actually giving a blade an ability is less than one percent, but it doubles your critical chance."

My eyes widened. 100%... goddamn!

"I can trust you, right Tryth?" She said. I nodded, "Of course."

She took the sword out of my hands, and the one at my side, and disappeared to the back room. I heard more bangings. She came back with the sword she forged, but not Shadow Reaper…

"Umm, where is my sword?" I asked,

"I have a unique skill. I found out that your old one also had a power, and my skill is the power to transfer a skill from one weapon to another….." my eyes widened. This means speed and critical… I will be invincible! Holy shit!

"Liz, I can't even begin to pay you back, here take ten thousand" she seemed taken aback by such a large number.

"No, no, no, just make me your exclusive blacksmith! Every day, I want you in here, getting your gear repaired!" She proclaimed.

I nodded. The blade had a name….. it read Shadow Reaper! How did she? Ahh, as the creator of the weapon, she gets to name it, so, she knows how much I loved that other sword, so she named this one after it.

"Tryth… I think I am in love with you" she said suddenly. I stopped moving, and became very tense.

"Oh. God, I am sorry, I really want to jump off a cliff right now" she said.

"No, don't be, you are confessing your feelings for me, and that is a good thing… it's just…."

"There is someone else… I see" she studied her shoes.

"Not really…. it's… oh, gods, it's hard to get out."

She looked up when I denied her suspicions. "Then What?"

I sighed. I can trust her. I told her about everyone dying.

She looked at me with empathy, clear on her features.

"Oh, Tryth… no one deserves that!"

"So, now I believe that I shouldn't be loved, I don't deserve to be loved. Everyone who does dies."

I was going to continue, but her soft lips interrupted me. It felt good, right. When I didn't shy away, she pressed harder against my face, and slipped her tongue inside my mouth. We kissed deeply, taking each other's touch, taste, and scent. I haven't felt this way since Argo….

Of course, that's when a certain Rat decided to walk in. "Hey, Liz, I was wondering if you have seen Tryth…" we immediately broke apart, but too late. She had tears welling up in her eyes. She had an expression on her face… it was betrayal. I felt so guilty. She ran out. Why, why does life do this to me?


	18. Chapter 18-Gleam Eyes

Oh, shit. I stood up, and raced out, following the Rat. Why did she have to walk in? I was just about to call it off, I can't have people loving me, they will end up dead. I raced through the town, looking for Argo. It took hours, but with legs sore, and chest heaving for air, I found her next to a bridge. I plopped next to her, trying to get breath into my starved lungs. The sun was setting, putting a brilliant visual show. I managed to get enough breath in my body to stop panting. That was when I realized she was crying. I sat there, not knowing what to do, and scolding myself for letting things go as far as they did. If only I acted harsher towards Liz! Then she wouldn't fall in love with me, this is all my fault. I reached out to hug Argo, and she pulled away. I didn't try that again. She continued crying. Why the fuck does life do this to me?!

"Argo?" I asked. I hope she is mad, and not disappointed, or sad. Mad I can deal with, the others, not so much.

"I thought you loved me" she said, still sobbing into the crook of her arm.

I sighed. "I did, and do, and I don't want anyone to love me. I was about to pull away and tell Liz that when you walked in. It may not seem believable, but that is the truth" I feel so guilty.

"Do you love her?" I pondered this question.

"There are multiple forms of love, so yes, I do."

"Do you LOVE her" she asked. The sobbing has ebbed.

"No, I don't think so" I replied. "Nor do I want to. If I do, I am scared I will lose her, just as I am scared I will lose you, so that's why I left. I am trying to get over you."

She nodded, understanding. "Okay then." She said. Just then, a certain pink haired smith found us.

"I have been looking everywhere for you two!" She yelled, panting.

I sighed, getting a confused glance from both girls. "I had better get going before I make this any worse than it has to be".

Liz looked at me questioningly, and I explained. "Both you and Argo love me, she saw us kissing and ran out. She and I were…. we were 'a thing', and, because of the personal experiences I told you about back at the dragon's nest, I don't want either of you to love me. Everyone dies" I started walking away when I felt two hands on my shoulders. They spun me around, and I saw both girls looking sternly at me.

"Well, I don't give a fuck if you don't want us to love you!" Said Liz.

"And, we have been through to much for me to give up so easily!"Argo slapped me.

"Do you want to die?!" I said.

"I would rather die with you than alone!" Argo said.

"Here here!" Shouted Liz.

"And if I die protecting you? You would understand my feelings right now" again, I spun away to walk away, and again, the girls spun me around. "You better not be walking off!" Said Liz.

I ran away. My legs were screaming in agony, but I ran. I will get stronger, no one else will die! I ran to the labyrinth, and grinned for the rest of the day. I slept in a safe zone within the labyrinth, and continued grinding. This new swords durability was nearly infinite, so I could go a few days without having to get it repaired. After I finished a mini-boss, I heard, "I thought I would find you here". I turned to see a Rat sitting inside a dead tree. The labyrinth was filled with them. "What do you want, Rat?" I said.

"Ooooh, back to pet names are we Trinity?" Now I am regretting telling her about me.

"No, Argo, I want you to go away. These mobs are too strong for you."

"But I have me Tryth to protect me!" I sighed, because I knew I would keep her safe. Another mob spawned and I hacked it to pieces, it a few dozen strikes, or, in a second. I have been able to increase my reaction speed considerably, even though I have stopped upgrading my maxed out Agility stat. Now I just need to upgrade my Critical damage, and I will take down Kayaba. I will kill him for all he has done to me and the people I care about!

"Tryth, come back to me" she said unexpectedly as the last monster in the area died by my new and improved Shadow Reaper.

"Why? I can't see you die" I said. "I would suicide, and you know it"

"But if you die out here, I will suicide!" She retorted. I hate arguing with girls, they always have a new trick up their sleeve. "No! I will not! I can't! I have a mission, and I can't deviate from it!" I said, "I have to kill Kayaba, I have to avenge Alisha, Bronts, Angelica, and Trisha! I have to!" I felt her arms wrap around me. I didn't realize it, but I was stiffer that a tree. My whole body was intending from her familiar touch. I wanted to lean into it, to accept her caresses, but I knew I couldn't. I stepped away. Another mob spawned, and died shortly thereafter. She ran off ahead of me. I sighed. So I have to babysit her? I jogged after her, and I couldn't find the little Rat. Then I heard a scream. I ran towards it to find…

A boss had backed Argo into a corner. It's name was [Gleam Eyes]. It was the floor boss. It looked like a massive blue Minotaur, with glowing blue eyes. It held a sword longer than I was tall, and was prepared to strike Argo, and would kill her instantly. Goddamn you!

I seemed to appear right in front of her, just as his strike came down. I angled my sword, deflecting it to the side instead of blocking. "Run. You dumbass!" She ran to safety. Argo did this on purpose, I know it. Now I just have to kill this bastard! It roared a challenge at me, which I answered with my own. We circled, it didn't know how to react in the face of either bravery, or stupidity. Probably a mixture of both, I thought. It charged, and I side stepped, and used this opportunity to rush it, with a [Crucifixion] that took over half the first bar. Damn. I gave that everything I had, and every hit was a critical hit! I must have done hundreds of thousands of points of damage, and I didn't take down the first bar? Damn. Fine! I roared as I rushed it, stabbing, slicing, slashing, hacking, Reaping. I will kill this thing! I continued, taking no damage, my speed keeping me safe, and I stuck, each hit with all of my force. I hate you! I hate this game! I hate Kayaba! I stood still, exhausted. The boss burst into blue lights. Argo… is… safe… then I blacked out.i woke inside our inn room. Huh, what the?

"Great now that you are awake, you can explain how you took a floor boss on by yourself!" Yelled a green cloaked Rat from the foot of the bed. I tried to get up, but realized I was tied down. "Goddamnit! Can I not have anything I want! Fuck you all! All you do is put my through misery! And you expect me to bend to you? No! Goddamnit!" I roared as i struggled against the rope holding me down. I stopped moving when I felt a knife being held menacingly at my crotch.

"Don't make me stab you" she growled.

"Then let me go! Or kill me!" I challenged. "I have lost the will to live, I just don't have the courage to kill myself! Do it for me!"

The knife receded.

"So I mean that little to you? You don't care how you would affect me, and Liz, and everyone who knows that you are the only ticket out of this game?"

"That's all I am? I WAY OUT? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! NO ONE TRULY LOVES ME, OR CARES. I DON'T WANT THEM TO! I AM JUST A WAY OUT, THOUGH SEEMS A LITTLE MORE DEGRADING!"

Her knife plunged into my heart. Since we were in a safe zone, I took no damage, but it hurt like a bitch. "Then you are a hypocrite" she said.

"I know I am, but, I want you guys to just leave me alone! I went to Liz to get a new sword, nothing else!" I said defensively.

Her knife exited my chest, and I felt the bonds loosen. "And we want you to stay. We want YOU. Please, don't leave" she said. I sat up, shaking my head, but she continued, "You think you are protecting us, but, if we are attacked, how could we defend ourselves? You are putting me in danger". I hate this logic.

"I need to go back to the front lines. I need to continue fighting" I said.

"Then we will do it like we always have, together". She took my hand.


	19. Chapter 19-Floor One Hundred

Floor ninety nine has been beaten, we are on floor one hundred. The map is a giant castle, with the tallest tower being the labyrinth here. There are no mobs besides what is inside the tower. Everyone was celebrating as we arrived. I was level 128, and the highest leveled player in the game. No one has been able to beat me in a duel, and my name as Beater hasn't been used by anyone. Argo is happy that I am "back to my old self". She smiles at me, and it makes my heart flutter every time. When we arrived we learned that the castle still had npc's and inns, even though it is the smallest floor. We were in a room, as big as the inns back on floor one. Argo had promised that we would "celebrate" today, this marvelous victory. It has bees almost two and a half years, and we will finally exit this hellhole!

We sat in the king size bed, the room huge. Floor was carpeted, walls held magnificent paintings, depicting knights, and players. I saw a few of me, more of them held me than not, whether it be as a group, fighting the first floor boss, or solo fighting the seventy fourth. Or just standing there, talking to Liz about my new sword. There was one with Argo and I holding hands, walking down the flower floor, happily in love. I still felt like if she dies, it will be my fault, but she overruled that with "you will just have to protect me then!". I love my Rat!

I turned to the girl beside me, and said, "So, what are we going to celebrate again?".

She looked up at me, and wiggled her eyebrows playfully. Oh, shit.

"Oh, no, oh gods no!" I said as she climbed on top of me, and ripped off my shirt. She started viciously attacking my face with hers. All the while her hands pulled me upright, and rubbed my bare back. I couldn't stop her, even though I wanted her to stop. Well, half wanted. Half, I loved this. She stopped just long enough to take her shirt and pants off leaving her bra. I blinked several times at the perfectly proportioned body in front of me. Not only is her mind and personality so lovable, that body is bonus points! She kissed me with a renewed fire, and her hands…. strayed. They went down my pants, and gripped my buttocks, and pulled off my pants. We continued kissing as she completed stripping me, and then finished herself.

"So, like what you see Tryn?" In private, I let her call me by my real name.

I kissed her deeply, "You know the answer to that question". She giggled like a schoolgirl. She started kissing my body. Making me groan in pleasure. She kissed my neck my shoulders, my arms, my chest my stomach. My… I pulled away. She looked puzzled at me, then comprehending spread across her face. "Okay then, we won't do that". I nodded. The mood felt ruined, but when her arms wrapped around me again, I forgot about pretty much everything. She flopped on her back, and said "Kiss me, everywhere!" And I did. I started at her face, like she did to me, went to her neck, her shoulders and arms, then she wanted me to stay on her chest for a while, so while one hand was kneading a breast, my mouth was kissing the other, then switch. We continued kissing each other for a long time. Then, when she was about to stand up, I pulled her downwards. "What are you doing?" She asked. I smiled sheepishly, and lifted myself up on top of her. "Are you sure?" She asked. I nodded, I have to at some point, and this will prove to her how much I trusted her. We made sweet love to one another. When we both finally orgasmed, I fell away on the bed, both of us sweating and panting slightly. Damn, that girl knows a few tricks. She curled up beside me. "Wow, this may be a game, but that felt good" I said. She groaned her agreement. She pressed her body against me, and we slept blissfully. Tomorrow, we start the raid.

The next day, the smiths were swamped with orders of sharpening, enhancing, and just about everything. Of course, Liz let me cut in line to get my blade repaired. Every day since our fight, I came dutifully, and always had something for her to do for me. We stood outside the door of the tower that was the dungeon on this last floor.

"Comrades!" Shouted Diavel, so he survived this whole time, "We have made it this far! We can clear the game this week! We will! We will fight! Fight for your friend beside you! Fight for the people who can't! Fight for the smiths who upkeep your weapons! Fight for your families who long for you back!" This got the crowd of clearers to roar. Moral was high, hype was higher. The doors to the tower opened. I stepped forward as the strongest, I am going first. What stood in my way was a single knight. He wore solid armor, no skin showing. He was standing at attention, a broadsword pointed down, and both gauntleted hands on it. On one arm was a huge shield, easily three feet tall, and two feet across. It had a sword and shield emblem on it.

"Thou must defeateth me if thine wish is to passeth" it's voice was deeper than Agil's. it struck fear into everyone, even me. I couldn't see its level, but I saw that it's name was [Tower Knight]. Hmm, top floor mob…. must be strong. "You want a piece of me?" I said. Then I saw a question mark appear above its head, startling me.

"My wish is to fighteth all that standeth in my way. If thy defeateth me, I am in thine's service."

"Bring it tin can!" I shouted. The question mark turned to a exclamation mark, and I saw [Tower Guard Quest accepted]. It picked up its massive sword and swung. I dodged. This k Ishtar was clumsy and slow. I [Linear]ed its head a few times. I did almost no damage. Wow, knight that has that much def. Wow. I let some people who were Str types take over. I had no Defence pricing ability, but the str's did. They got it down to half health while I was chilling with Argo. When it reached the yellow, it dropped onto one knee, and said "thou hast defeated me. I am in thine service" I stepped forward.

"Who is your master?" I asked.

"Thy are my master" I nodded.

"Stand" I commanded. "Everything this girl beside me commands you do, her name is Argo, and to you, she is equal to me"

The knight complied, and said, "Yes master, mistress". We walked on. The outside made this tower look small, but each floor of the tower held a hey on the opposite side, that unlocked the door, and allowed progress to the next level. So basically, it was SAO inside SAO.

The next floor held a single knight, but this one had black armor. I grinned. His armor was lighter than the firsts, meaning I will be more effective against it than I was. It's name was [Tower Knight] as well. Some attackers rushed it, and it sliced with one hand. A player died instantly, without time to react. Holy shit, it's almost as fast as me. The other two were cut down as fast. My turn. I ran to it, not making a sound. It sliced at me, and I blocked….. and was sent flying backwards from the sheer force of the blow. Goddamn! How the hell are they going to stand up to something that fast and that strong? We decided to leave now. We can always go grinding on a lower level, and come back. We will win!


	20. Chapter 20-Tower Knight

Well, the next day, everyone decided to send me (they called me Shadow Reaper now, thanks to Argo) against that second knight. I stood in front of it. It's black armor looked foreboding. Hrmph. I am the Shadow Reaper, I am the Beater, I don't get scared from a mob!

I stepped forward, in front of the rest of the Clearers. "You don't have to fight it alone!" Yelled Argo.

"I want to" I said.

The [Tower Knight] in front of me raised its heavy broadsword, but I noticed no shield. Hmm, I saw how fast this thing is, but, how will it fare against my steel? I moved faster than I have ever tried before, and even to me, it looked like I teleported. I was behind it faster than anyone can blink. I lashed out with as many [Linear]s as I could before it turned to face me. I did about five percent damage. This is going to take a while. It swung at me, and I used a Sword Skill to block. The impact was still jarring as shit though. "I have nothing against you Mr. Tower Knight dude, I just really need to let off some steam" I smiled, knowing not even Kayaba can be as fast as me.

[Linear] [Slice] [Crucifixion] [Vertical] [Inverted Vertical], I used them all, and even a Skill I got recently, [Shining Sword], this was a multi hit Skill, like [Crucifixion], the main difference was that my sword gleamed white instead of red, and it didn't matter where I hit my target. My favorite part of the Skill, though, was that I could continue to use it instead of my other Skills. In other words, when I use it, the cooldown for [Linear] starts up, or [Vertical]. It was a Continuous Sword Skill. It was THE Continuous Sword Skill. I slashed and sliced and stabbed and thrusted and parried to my heart's content. My cool down was virtually nonexistent, so I could use my [Shining Sword] as many times, as long as I wanted. I stuck as fast as I could, at the head, neck, and upper chest, dealing as much damage as possible, while the head and chest shots made the knight stumble. Beating the shit out of that thing was very therapeutic, helping relieve the stress I had built up inside. I slashed and hacked and stabbed until it fell over onto its back, and exploded into blue lights.

Congratulations!

Tryth

Level 128-129.

I grunted. Wow, that was tiring. These knights are strong. I immediately went to Lisbeth's Smith Shop here on the top floor, to get my weapon repaired. When I walked in, she hugged me.

"I heard that a certain Shadow Reaper defeated a floor one hundred mob all by himself, where others died! Wow, that say something!" I didn't reply.

"Don't get mad" I said.

She looked at me puzzled, and I pulled out the sword Shadow Reaper. The nicks, scratches and dents in it made Liz scream. She took the sword, and slapped me.

"You dumbass! What have you been doing? Striking an iron wall?! This is unacceptable! You dumbass! Baka!"

I winced as she scolded me. "Actually, I kind of was hitting an iron block. The mob I was fighting was a knight, in solid armor. I just kept hitting it, and I thought that the durability on the sword would hold, and it did, barely"

"Baka!" She repeated, then went to her back room, to repair the damage. I hope none of it is permanent, that would suck, me ruining her masterpiece. She would certainly kill me! A few minutes that seemed like years later, she came from the back room. The sword looked perfect again. "Thank gods! Thank you Liz!" I said, and sent her A LOT of col, like, millions. She stuttered when she saw the lump sum.

"I can't take this from you! It too much!" She said. I shook my head.

"That is nothing compared to what I have saved up. If I could transfer in game col to real money, I could buy all of America. She gulped and accepted the small sum of 9 million col. "Besides," I continued, "I won't be needing it soon. I will either die, or clear the game, and if I died, Argo would kill me." She laughed, and handed me the newly repaired Shadow Reaper. Time to go fight another Knight. Just then, the first knight walked in. "Who the hell are you?" Asked Liz.

"Fair maiden, I am Sir Lancelot. Noble knight of Aincrad" the knight stood at attention with its master , me, so close. Liz looked at me, demanding an explanation.

"Umm, I beat him in a fight in the beginning of the tower. He then swore his life to me, so, yeah. Npc knight!" I said. "I named him Lance, so, yeah. Hey, lance, this is Lisbeth. She is the best blacksmith in Aincrad, and personal friend."

"I am pleased to be in the company of a person with such a title!" He said. "I am also pleased to meet thou, Lisbeth"

"Lance, you can speak normal English, no need for that old English stuff"

"I am a knight, sir, I must speaketh the noble way of knights!"

I sighed. Oh well. "Bye, Liz. See you tomorrow." I walked out, and started to go to the room I was staying in. Outside the door, I noticed Lance was standing next to me.

"Umm, you have the rest of the day off, Lance. Go have some fun, or sleep, or do whatever npc's do when they are not following me around"

" I thank thee" and he walked away, clanking the whole time. Wtf am I going to do with him? I opened the door into my suite, and saw Argo on the bed, doing her info brokering. Somehow, she even knew about a level this high up. Man, I have the best girlfriend ever. I sat down next to her and sighed heavily, happy to be off my feet.

"So, you want the spiel now or later?"she asked. Again, I sighed. I am doing a lot of that lately.

"Go ahead, now" I said.

"Ok, the tower is basically a ten floor mini Aincrad, each floor holds one enemy, and if you beat that enemy you gain access to the next floor. The mobs get stronger on each floor. You being the only person above one-twenty, you are really the only fighter we have who stands a chance against these things. They are all [Tower] mobs, some [Knight]s, some [Lancer]s, and there is even one [Tower Mage]. Be careful against that one, super powerful long range shots. After you clear all ten floors, on the very top, is the final boss, who we, and only we, know as Akihiko Kayaba.". It was as if the game was trying to kill me. Well, it is a death game. I leaned over and kissed the Rat. Caught by surprise, she didn't pull away. When I stopped, she asked, "What was that for?." I shrugged.

"I felt like it". I kissed her again to keep her from responding. I grabbed her hand, and closed her menu with it. "We do need more time together. I can't just fight, I need more. I feel like all I am good for is fighting, and as soon as I am not good at that, I will lose you"

"That is idiotic, Baka." She pecked my cheek to take the sting of her words away.

"I mean, I am a nerd IRL. I make good grades, and have no friends. I feel like if you see the real me, you won't love me anymore."

"Again, Baka. I am looking at the real you right now. You are amazingly smart, and will die for anyone else to live. No matter what, you will always protect your friends." Argo was the one person I have told everything. She knows about my continuous skill, she knows my real name, and address. I knew hers. She was known as Argo IRL, but still, it felt good knowing stuff about her, knowing she can trust me. I hugged her and put my head against her shoulder. "I need to be stronger, I can't protect everyone yet, I need to be better, faster, stronger. I need to protect everyone" I started crying a little, still haunted by everyone I couldn't save.

"Shhh, you don't need to protect anyone, not even me! You know I can take care of myself!"

"You are level eighty, you can't fight anything on this floor without dying, I need to keep you safe, I can't lose you"

She kept shushing me, and caressing my head until the sobs backed down. "Better?" She asked.

I responded with a nod. She kissed me. "Good, then we can get to more…. pressing matters" her hand strayed downward…. a lot…. which made me jump.

"Oh, my god! You are just a horny rabbit!" I said, and she wiggled her eyebrows.

"You know it! Now, show me those Sword Skills" I had a feeling she wasn't talking about Shadow Reaper.

 **Yes, that was a reference to the SAO abridged**


	21. Chapter 21-Almost There

It was soon obvious that I was the only one even remotely close to being able to fight these things off. They were all knights, until the ninth floor, where I saw a lancer. I was level one-forty two now, and the second highest leveled player is one-eleven. I was the strongest, the fastest, but I wasn't good enough, I had to get better. I have to get everyone out. People learned soon that I used a single Sword Skill when fighting, it just lasted as long as I wanted. Every day, I walked into Liz's shop, with a beaten up sword, and every day she chastised me for it. Some days I beat my opponent, some I failed and walked out with one health point. Today, I was feeling invincible. I was looking at the heavily armored figure in front of me, holding a seven foot spear. That thing was barbed, and would hurt like hell if it hit me. The thing about [Lancer]s is that their health and def is off the charts! I used the same strategy I used against everything, I rushed at it screaming my ass off. I used my [Shining Sword]. My blade turned into a brilliant white, and I slashed, hacked, slice and stabbed to my heart's content. With enemies that actually are a challenge to beat the shit out of, I was less stressed and depressed. I took it out on the poor mobs who dared get into my way. I was merciless, and all my rage built up inside boiled over as I attacked. Always getting faster, always hitting harder. Nothing could stand up to this onslaught of strikes. The poor [Tower Lancer] was dead within ten minutes of my rage induced power hits. I waved to the onlookers, including the best Rat ever, and walked to the opposite side, where a red door was appearing. This went to the tenth, and final floor, where I will find a [Tower Mage], and will kill it, hopefully today, and then tackle Kayab tomorrow. We have been stuck in this blasted game for three years, tomorrow. I will be eighteen tomorrow. I will get out of here, tomorrow.

I walked up the spiral stone staircase, and reached another door. I opened it…..

What lay before me blew my mind. Even this game has no laws of physics. What I saw was an open grassy field. Open until it reached to horizon. Standing right in front of me, was a single black cloaked figure. At first, I thought it was Laughing Coffin, but when I drew my sword, it spoke with a familiar feminine voice, "There will be no bloodshed here, Swordsman." I sheathed my blade. I turned to see Argo standing behind me. Everyone else had gone home, knowing that I would clear this level, and tomorrow was the big day. She took my hand. I nodded to her, and the figure spoke again. "Here, not a test of strength, but a test of the brain. Here I will see if you deserve to fight the god of this land, and if your heart is pure enough."

"Yes ma'am." I said.

It took its hood off, to reveal Argo's face. I was startled. I looked beside me, but Argo wasn't there. What the…? "Where is Argo!" I demanded.

"You will get back to Aincrad if you pass. If you fail, you die. You are unable to get back to Aincrad until this assessment is complete"

I grunted.

"First question: Who matters most to you?"

"Argo" I said immediately.

"Would you kill the whole world, in order to save her?".

I hesitated…

"Would you, Swordsman?" She repeated.

"I do not know" she nodded, accepting my answer.

"Do you think you are strong?"

"Define strong" I said.

The figure shook its head.

"Do you think you are strong?" It repeated. Hrmph.

I thought for a moment. "I am really good at SAO, I am physically weak, emotionally unstable, mostly because of teen hormones." I said.

"But do you think you are strong?"

"No, I think I am weak. I haven't been able to protect anyone I care about. And they all died"

"What is your one wish?"

"For everyone I care about to be alive, and to be able to protect them".

"Have you killed anyone, in Aincrad?"

"I have"

"Does it haunt you?"

"Every day, every night, all the time. I see their faces even now"

"Do you think you can beat Kayaba"

"No" I said with certainty.

"Then why would you try?"

"Because of the small chance I have of beating him, and getting everyone out of this game"

"What matters to you most" this caught me off guard.

"Didn't you already ask that?"

"No, I asked who, not what"

I thought for a moment… "I… don't know." I realized that I didn't know if Argo was WHAT I cared about most. "I don't know" I repeated guiltily.

"Did you think you could make it this far? In Aincrad?"

"No, every day I woke up and thought I was going to die, that today would be the day Laughing Coffin slipped a knife in my ribs, or a boss killed me."

"Why do you continue?"

"Because I have to get Argo out of this hellhole. If I have the slightest chance at getting her back to her former life, I have to take it"

"Would you die for Argo?"

"Absolutely. I would die for her" I said this resolutely. Anything, I would do anything.

"If you could sacrifice yourself, to bring back everyone who has died, but not guarantee their safety would you?"

I thought about this one… "Yes, Alisha and Argo would do that for me"

"Would you change any of your answers if I told you that Argo was listening?"

I hesitated… "No, Argo would understand. I would not change anything"

"I have good news, and bad news. Good news, is that Argo was here the whole time. Behind you, I made her invisible with my magic" I turned to see the Rat standing behind me, looking scared. "Bad news, you get to proceed to fight Akihiko Kayaba, God of Aincrad." The figure disappeared, and I was forced teleported…..

When I opened my eyes, I was in a magnificent throne room. Deep crimson reds,and purples everywhere, and banners with the SAO symbol. I looked at the throne. On it was PoH, the LC leader.

"Let me change a bit."he said. He waved his hand, and turned into a new man. He wore a white coat, and had glasses. He had dancing brown eyes, and brown hair. He seemed like a good guy. "I, am Akihiko Kayaba"

I stood up, and drew Shadow Reaper. "I know who you are, I don't care to be honest, I just want you dead!"

"Calm down, rushing into battle is a stupid idea"

Too bad it's my style, but I waited.

"You have earned the right to fight me, and I will humor you. If you beat me, you beat Sword Art Online. If you lose, you die."

Easy enough. Gulp. He equipped a huge shield and broadsword. Damn, a def type, I am a agi type, and def types are my weakness. I heard a sound of someone teleporting, and then a gasp. I looked over my shoulder to see Argo, with her hand over her mouth. "Stay back! You don't stand a chance!"

She nodded. "Wup his ass!"


	22. Chapter 22-The Reason For Fighting

I stared at Kayaba, the final boss in Sword Art Online, the Death Game. This is going to suck. I only know one style of fighting, so, I did it. I rushed Kayaba, and struck lightning fast. His shield came up, and he took no damage. Hmm, I wonder what will happen if I strike his shield over and over? [Shining Sword] isn't really good in this situation, but none of my skills are. I swear he decided his type after me, because my onslaught is so easily thwarted by that shield. Maybe it's durability is lower than my swords? No chance, he is the final boss. He is supposed to be undefeatable. I roared my wordless battle cry and moved behind him faster than he can react. I got one Slash on his back, which also had heavy armor. I leaped back, panting. His health went down a sliver. Okay, that is fucked up. I did over fifty thousand damage, that would have killed any normal player. What the hell?

I roared again, letting my emotions and instinct take over. I am faster, I have to use that to my advantage. I was all around him at once, slicing hacking stabbing, jabbing, slashing. I did it all, taking slivers and less than slivers from him. Goddamnit! At this rate, we could fight all day and her won't be in the yellow! What is his plan? Wait until I slow down, and then hit me hard? That would work! Goddamn! There is nothing I can do to stop him! I roared! "DIE" and rushed him again. The only way to prevent him from hitting me is to kill him before that happens, or, never slow down. I attacked all sides of him, and if he moved his shield to block my strikes, I was somewhere else, dealing more damage per second, than anyone thought possible. Faster, stronger! For Argo! I screamed as I attacked as fast and hard as I could, doing as much as I could. I have to kill him! For Argo! Just by sheer will, I got him down to halfway in an hour. I backed away, taking a breather. I am running out of energy, I can't last until the end, he is going to win. I can't let that happen! I must win! For Argo! If anything, for her! I attacked with renewed purpose and energy, inflicting even more damage. Faster! Stronger! Harder! I have to win! I slashed against every little bit of him that wasn't protected by that damned shield. I can't let him beat me! No one else is my equal, no one else can hope of winning against Kayaba. His shield provided so much defense though. How am I going to? How can I win against this?! I am nowhere near ready. I have to though! I have to! These thoughts were interrupted rudely by a sword to the stomach. I sputtered. His broadsword was jammed firmly into my gut. "D-d-damnit" he got me. My health was in the red instantaneously. Nothing I could do about it. It was draining still. If I am dying, I am taking him with me! "Argo, I haven't t-t-t-told you yet… but, I love you"

She screamed at me. "YOU CAN'T DIE! DON'T DIE, DON'T DIE FOR ME! I WILL KILL YOU!" How could she kill me if I am already dead?

I took my last look at the world. At Kayaba. I thrusted my sword into his unprotected face with a roar. The only part of him not covered in armor. His eyes opened as my steel bit into his skull with a satisfying crunch. He stumbled back, and my blade went out of him. His health hit zero fast, and he exploded into blue lights. I drew the broadsword in my stomach out, and fell on my back. My health was still going down. Damn bleed effects. I was weak from exhaustion, and from pain. I killed Kayaba! I did it! For Argo!

She was by my side, screaming something…. it sounded like "Don't you dare die!", but I was delirious. I reached up to her, and stroked her cheek. "Don't be sad. I love you" and the next thing I know, I was staring at blackness, with the words in red:

You Are Dead.

Data dump in 5:00 minutes.

The timer was counting down. Well, I freed everyone. I did it. I still have five minutes to live, I guess. Hm. Oh, well. I wouldn't change anything. What I told that [Tower Mage] was the truth, I would gladly give my life for others. I was happy.

2:00 minutes remaining.

I love Argo. I am sorry I didn't live to see her IRL. She was very beautiful. In general, she was a beautiful person, inside and out.

1:00

I beat Kayaba. Sure, he got me, but I win. I am the victor.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

…

A bright light blinded me. I was above Aincrad, floating in the air. I blinked my eyes quickly. Am I dead? I heard sobbing. I turned, and saw Argo on her knees, floating on some invisible platform like me. I ran to her, and enveloped her in a crushing hug. She returned it. "I thought you died" she whispered into my ear. "You can't get rid of me that easily" I retorted. We sat there, then I heard a crumbling sound. I looked down, and saw Aincrad breaking apart. Dissolving. Hmm.

"It's over" I said to my love.

"It certainly is" said a mature voice behind me. I stood quickly, as did Argo. I pushed her behind me slightly, but it was Akihiko Kayaba. He was unarmed, as was I. He was watching Aincrad disappear.

"You beat me. Good job, I knew you were the best! Now you are ready" he said cryptically.

"What do you mean?"

"Ahh, I didn't explain it to you. Okay, Sword Art Online was intended to help train people to handle the evil in the world. Now that you have beaten me, you are ready. The only way it was possible, is if the person had so much that he was fighting for, that defeat wasn't an option, like love. Because you fell in love, you beat me. It's that simple"

I blinked in confusion. "Umm, huh?"

Argo responded. "Baka. Well, what he is trying to say, is that you were fighting for me, so you won"

"That is correct, you are a very astute person, but could I expect any less from Argo the Rat? The best info broker in SAO?" Kayaba chuckled.

"Kayaba, what evil are you talking about?" I asked, "You said we are ready to take on evil, what evil?"

He looked at the dissolving Aincrad. "The truly despicable people out there."

"Is that all?"

"No, Angelica isn't dead. She is alive, and she is key to beat Suguo. He is the first person you will need to face. He, alongside me, built SAO. He is worse than me, and is keeping her alive for his own perverted agenda."

This hit us like a deadpan. "What?"

"Sorry, can't talk more. You better say your final goodbyes. We don't have much time" he burst into blue polygons. Argo made me memorize her phone number, and made me promise to call her once we were put. She would find me once I did that. We spent the rest of the time in a deep kiss.

I opened my eyes. I was in a sterile white hospital room. A nurse was beside me, calling for a doctor. I tried to sit up, but realized I had zero ab muscles. Wow, go video games. I used all my strength to sit up, and reached for the phone next to the bed. A doctor was trying to get me to lay down, but I said "Get your hands off me, and let me call someone! After that, I don't care, I will go through all of your tests!" He complied. I picked up the phone and dialed.

Ring

Ring

Ring

Ring

Ring

"Hello? Tryth?" I heard a croak on the other side of the line.

"Argo!" I said. I asked the doctor what room I was in.

"I am in room 255, where are you?"

"256" I asked the doctor where that was and he pointed to a closed door, directly opposite mine. I tried to stand, and the doctor was there, trying to get me to lay back down. I shot him a dirty look, and stood, using his shoulder as a support. I all but forced him to lead me to room 256. He opened the door, and I saw Argo… her brown hair was dirty, and she looked as weak as I felt. "Tryth" she mumbled. I made my way to the side of her bed without assistance. I layed down beside her, "Argo, I love you"

"I love you too Tryth."

 **End of SAO arc. ALO arc starts next chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23-Alfheim Online

**Start of ALO Arc**

After tests tests and more tests, the doctors finally let us go. We were staring enough now to walk the mile or so to my house. We were both eighteen, so we were allowed to make our own decisions. I opened my door. Inside, it was spotless. The maid had obviously decided to keep coming and cleaning. The television was clean, the counters were clean. It was so quiet. Back before the Death Game, there was always noise going on. It finally deadpanned. They were dead and they are not coming back. I had recently learned that the government hadn't taken all of our money, but put it into a trust fund. Some guy from Tokyo center gave me a debit card, with billions of dollars worth of money on it. Let's just say that that is a lot of Yen. I filled a switch and a light came on. So the electricity still works. I turned a knob, water came through. Plumbing still works. I sat heavily on the couch. The government assigned us to a special school to help us learn what we missed out on. Hrmph. I was out there, trying to save lives, and they are babying me. Oh, well.

The school was easy. Classes were for the most part, fun. The teachers taught, and if you did the little work there was, then it was fun, with little rules.

We were walking in an unfamiliar part of Tokyo. It was a little run down, not the ghetto, but a little run down. "Hey, where are we going?" I asked Argo as she pulled me along. "You will see, Baka!" That has kind of become her name for me, other than her Shadow Reaper. She pulled me along the maze-like streets towards an unknown destination. We arrived in front of a building marked "The Dicey Cafe". Wow, that isn't ominous.

"Stand here, until I call you in!" I really did not like the look of mischief in her eyes, but I did as I was commanded. Even IRL, Argo had a knack for knowing everything there is to know on the streets. I stood for about five minutes, then I heard her yell for me to enter. I opened the door, and jumped out of my skin. Inside were party streamers, and decor. Argo was standing arm in arm with Agil, Liz, and Silica, and some adult guy who I barely recognized form the clearing team.

"Surprise!" They yelled in unison.

"I hope you know just how much I hate being surprised" I said.

"Don't be a party pooper!" Scolded Liz. "This is Klein. He was a clearer, and the head of the samurai guild."Hrmph. Well, Liz didn't have pink hair or eyes IRL, they were a light brown. If I wasn't already taken, I would probably have asked her on a date. Agil gave everyone some soda, except Klein, who got beer. Argo and I sat together, just enjoying each other's company, when that samurai guy came to our table, and faced Argo. "Hi, I'm Klein, I'm single, I'm twenty four…" I decided to stop him there.

"Excuse me, but, would you like to get my foot so firmly planted in your crotch, that your balls will be hanging out of your ears, and you will be giving yourself blowjobs from the inside."

He blinked in surprise. "Oooooooohhhhhhhh, you two are a thing, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any offense" he mumbled quickly and walked away.

"Serves him right" I grunted.

"You go my Reaper!" Argo cheered. People ate, drank, and generally had a good time. When Argo, and I were the only ones left besides the owner, Agil, he called us over.

"Okay, now time for a very serious talk" he said in his deep bass voice. "There is a new VRMMORPG, called Alfheim Online, or ALO for short. There are different races that you can be. The objective is to get to the top of this tree, called the World Tree."

"And?" I interrupted, "Why in the name of god would you think I would be interested in another VR game?"

"The important part in coming." He said calmly. "Some people tried flying to the top, because in the game, you can fly. One of them saw a birdcage. I inside was someone." He pulled out a picture. It was a high-res photo of someone in a birdcage. I recognized those eyes…. that hair… that face...

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed, "What the fuck is Angelica doing inside a birdcage when I saw her die?!"

"Tryth" said Argo. She still calls me by my game-name. "Remember when Kayab said that Angelica wasn't dead. Maybe she is trapped in that game like we were trapped in SAO." I brushed some hair out of my eyes, and calmed down.

"Agil, do you have a game?" I asked.

"Sure do" he pulled out a box with a picture of elves with wings on the front. "Thanks dude" I took it and ran off towards my home. I was winded after a few steps though, not being fully recovered from my years in the Death Game. I walked the rest of the way, but Argo caught up to me. We walked in silence. A while ago, she had moved in with me, without my say-so, but I didn't care. I was happy to have her around. She had also brought her NerveGear rig over. In silence, we sat down on my bed, a queen size, so it was big enough, and slipped on our rigs. I inserted the game into the console. She did so to hers (she had a friend who bought the game, but hated it).

We looked at each other, and nodded.

"Link start!"

Lights whizzed by. I was again in the total blackness, then I heard.

"Welcome to Alfheim Online. This is a world where there are nine races,

Cait Sith, the beast tamers.

Gnome, earth dwellers.

Imp, masters of the night. (This one called out to me)

Leprechaun, blacksmiths.

Pooka, musicians.

Salamanders, strength.

Spriggan, the illusionists (this one also called to me)

Sylph, the speed (oh, yeah, found it!"

And, the Undine, the healers.

You cannot choose your avatar, but you can choose your race, now, please make a selection."

Of course, being a fan of speed, I chose Sylph. A screen popped up in front of me, saying:

Would you like to use your profile from Sword Art Online?

I clicked the yes icon. I looked to the right to see my avatar. It was my height, with same bleach-blonde hair, but emerald eyes. I didn't like the bright colors, but, I can stand it for that major speed boost. Hell, the fastest player from SAO getting a speed boost! My avatar had a soft face, in fact, I looked at a mirror that appeared, the only thing I could find different between me and the avatar, were the eyes and clothes. Wow. Screw you, ALO. I accepted it. And appeared… in the middle of the air.

"Fffffuuuuuuccccckkkkkk!" I yelled as I fell to the ground. After getting up, and stretching out the kinks in myself, I realized that this felt the exact same as SAO. Wow, I waved my right hand to open the menu, but nothing happened. I tried it with my left, and the exact same menu opened. I saw that there was no level… what the? A MMORPG without a level? Hrmph.

I found the PM menu, and sent one to Argo. She told me that she would use her real name as her screen name, and I would use Tryth.

Sender: Tryth

Recipient:Argo

Message:Yo, here, where are you?

I sent it, and received no response. This isn't like her, she knows this game better than I… I heard a scream nearby. I ran towards it…

I went out of the trees into a c,earring to find seven red people with red wings and one blonde haired figure.

"Please, I don't know anything, I am a noob! How would I know where the Cait Sith troops are?!"

I stepped in front of the figure. "Tryth?" It said. I looked above her head… [Argo] Was floating there. "Argo?!" We hugged. I looked at the red dudes.

"Excuse me, but are you days bullying my friend here?" I asked, a deadly steel in my voice. I squeezed Argo's hand, and moved in from of her.

"Mind your own business, Sylph! This is between the Salamanders and the Cait Sith!" One of them said. They all wore red armor, and had red wings.

I thought about it for a moment "Mmmmmm, no" I said

They all drew their swords. I grinned, now this I was good at. I drew my…. knife.

"Fuck you ALO! Fost you make my avatar look like me, than you spawn my a few hundred feet in the air, and then YOU GIVE ME A FUCKING KNIFE?! I HATE KNIVES, I WANT A BLOODY SWORD!"

I felt something sharp poke into my back, and then Argo's low growl, "You got a problem with knives?"

"No, can you please remove that weapon from me, so I can deal with the jackasses in front of me?"

It moved, and I grinned sadistically.


	24. Chapter 24-Cait Sith

**Thank you** **Gttetaco and** **Gashadokuro** **Amanojaku for your help in the story! I am very grateful!**

"You think that you, a noob Sylph Scum can take on seven experienced Salamander warriors?" The leader scoffed. I shrugged, then nodded. I hope the system will help teach me how to use this small blade. It was small by my standards, but probably a big knife. The six inch blade was a perfect triangle. The hilt was wrapped in bright green leather, and had a meager handle guard. I gripped it backhanded, and crouched slightly, my left foot forward. I had taken some self defense classes, and this was one of the only things I remembered from knife training.

"Ha, you even stand like a noob!" One of the, rushed me. His sword raced down, but he didn't know I was the fastest thing ever in SAO, and am probably here too. I spun quickly, bringing my left leg in the air, and smacking his blade aside, and, stomping my left foot, which allowed my spinning momentum to be turned into forward momentum, and my and came up in a punch, aiming for just left of his face. As my knife cut into his head, a critical hit, he exploded into blue lights, just like in SAO.

Instead of completely disappearing, a little red flame remained there. His compatriots looked at each other, and attacked all at once.

After the massacre of seven Salamanders, I turned to face the Rat, and said, "Knives are cool, I prefer swords, but I will take a knife any day!"

She snorted, "Now that you are using a knife, you learn to dodge better. Trust me, if you ever use a sword again, you will be so much better."

We hugged, being happy to be together again.

"Back in the Virtual World, it seems." I said sarcastically.

She laughed. "Yeah, I was ready to ditch the NerveGear, but I just couldn't." I nodded, "so," she continued, "here is some basic info, your country and mine are in an alliance against the Salamanders. We also have the Undine, the water healers. They have the Spriggans, the illusionists, and Gnomes. The Gnomes seem to be good at protecting stuff with their earthen mounds, while the Spriggans focus on delusioning the enemy, and the Salamanders swarm in and get the kill. This was an exception, they just wanted to know what I know, and, I know a lot!" She said with a wink.

"Of course you do! If you didn't, you wouldn't be Argo the Rat!"

At that moment, I noticed something….. Argo had cat ears and a tail…..

"Oh my god" I said

"Don't say it!" She retorted.

"You…."

"Don't!"

"Are…"

"I swear I will murder you!"

"A…"

"He is going to say it…"

"Neko!" I laughed.

She punched me. It didn't do any damage, but it hurt. Sadly, it didn't stop me from laughing. "Please, just once!" I said"

"Fine!" She groaned.

"Oh my god! I have a personal Argo the Cat!"

I reached up and tweaked her ears. This must have been embarrassing for her, because she was blushing, but no one was around, I could tell.

"Ha, and I have my own Emerald Swordsman!" She retaliated. She knows black is my favorite color, but green was second.

"That's not really an insult…"

"Argo the Cat wasn't really either"

"Ok kitty!"

"Am I going to have to deal with that for as long as we are in the game?!" I nodded. "Fuck you" she said.

"Gladly. Would that be considered animal abuse…..?" She groaned, and made me follow her towards Cait Sith territory. Inside a town they looked just like SAO towns.

How about a little bit of a mental map?

In the center of the world, is a tree, called the World Tree. Directly north is Gnome Territory, and, going around clockwise, starting with the gnomes at twelve o'clock, is Leprechauns, them Spriggans, then Undine at three o'clock, Imps, then Salamanders at six, Sylph, Cait Sith at nine, and finally Puca.

After my free fall, I landed close to the Sylph-Cait Sith border. Why the hell that Salamanders were so far out of their territory is behind anyone, but the fact they knew who Argo was (Otherwise they would have just killed her, not asked her for info), scared the shits out of me.

When I confessed my concerns to Argo, she nodded, "I got to the same conclusion. This is very odd. I am personal friends with the leader of the Cait Sith, we can talk to her"

She lead me through the medieval town, to a very large palace looking thing. She knocked, and another neko came out. "Who goes there?" He asked.

"Argo the Rat-" I cut her off.

"Cat" I 'sneezed' she elbowed me, and I grinned like a fool.

"Come in, the leader is expecting you"

We walked in to find a massive hallway. "Wow" I breathed. It wasn't very decorated, but it gave the impression of power.

"Hello, I am Alicia Rue, the leader of the Cait Sith" I looked at the owner of the voice…

Holy shit. She was hot. Her dark skin and light hair contrasted nicely. She wasn't tall, rather short though, and had one of those fingered that forces you to check her out. She was wearing a very… revealing outfit. Hmmmm….

"You are staring, Tryth." Argo whispered in my earl I blinked rapidly, and studied the floor.

"Hello, Argo. Who is your friend?"

"He is Tryth, the person who got us out of SAO."

I looked at the leader of the Cait Sith, and she had raised eyebrows. "I am thankful you got everyone out. We couldn't run without Argo. This may be a game, but there are a lot of politics in it." She sighed.

"I believe that he can turn the tide of the war, after he completes his personal mission" Argo said.

"Oh? And why is this?"

"I will bet any amount of anything that he has the highest speed in the game. Also, he took on seven Salamanders, and came out unscathed." Alicia raised her eyebrows further.

"Well then, let's ditch this formal shit"

I blinked rapidly at the language. "Umm, ok" I said. She walked down the stairs, and pressed her body against mine… way too close.

"Well, handsome. How about helping us?" I had no idea how to push her away kindly, so I didn't. Instead, I gave Argo a pleasing look. She grinned, and didn't do anything.

Her body pressed closer. It seemed that she wanted to meld with me. Fine, enough is enough.

"Umm, Argo and I are kind of in love" I said timidly.

Her pressing stopped. "Oh" she said, oh-so-intelligently. She backed off, and shot Argo an apologizing look. She composed herself, but the faint blush in her cheeks was still evident. "So, will you help us defend ourselves from the Salamanders, Gnomes, and Spriggan?"

I closed my eyes, and gathered my thoughts. "I am sorry, but I cannot at this time. As Argo said, I have something I need to take care of. After that, anything goes."

She nodded in understanding. "Then can I help you with your mission?"

I grinned. "Tell me how to get to the top of the World Tree"

I swear a pin drop would have sounded like a gunshot. Wow, the silence.

"Well, inside the tree trunk, it is hollow. Basically, you go up. But it is nearly impossible. It is full of weak mobs, but so many of them, that even if all the countries banded together, we still couldn't beat the tree" she sighed heavily. "It is nearly impossible."

I smirked. "Well, I guess I am good at the 'nearly impossible'". I started towards the front door, the door we came in. "Bye, see you later" I called over my shoulder.

Argo caught up to me, and asked "Where are we going now?".

"How about the closest Cait Sith town to the tree".

"Well, shall we go?"

"Lead the way"

We walked outside, and her wings spread. "Ummm, Argo? How the hell did you do that?"

"Ahh, you haven't been taught yet. You simply think about having wings, and they will appear. Your first few try's, I would recommend using the little remote control that appears." I thought about wings, and some large green ones spread from my spinal chord. A remote spawned in front of me, but I denied it. I did the logical thing, and simply willed the wings to move, just like one wills their arm to raise, or fingers to curl.

"Got it!" And I shot into the air. I had to slow down, for Argo.

"Wow" she said.

"Yup! I guess my Agi stat translates into the air!"

She nodded.

"Race you!" I yelled!

"Baaaaakkkkkaaaaaa!" I heard her yell. I am in the (wink wink, nudge nudge) doghouse now.


	25. Chapter 25-Together, Forever

**thanks you to Gashadokuro Amanojaku, for all the reviews and help you have given me! I really appreciate it!**

I learned the hard way that these wings give out after a period of time. I was flying at max speed towards the town closest to the damned World Tree. I was a few miles away when I didn't feel anything on my back. And I was losing altitude. Needless to say, I panicked. As I was falling, I face planted a tree. I heard someone land beside me, and "Are you okay Tryth?" Reached my ears.

"Mrhmrphmlrmehr" was my response. She giggled, and I fell of the trunk, onto my back. Winded from the fall, I lay there, regaining my bearings.

"It would have been nice to know that these wings have a time out period." I groaned.

"I would nice to not be called Argo the Cat!" She retorted. I opened my eyes, and what I saw shocked me. It wasn't that my health was in the yellow from the impact, it was the beautiful lights being done by the setting sun. Time for some payback.

I lept up onto my feet, and threw Argo onto my shoulder. She screamed as I [Sonic Jump]ed onto a tall branch of a tall tree.i set her down on the branch with her mumbling something about hating me, when she gasped. "Wow" she breathed. Neither of us has actually seen a sunset, whether virtual or real. The sun was casting bright yellows, reds, oranges and pinks across the sky in intricate patterns. She scooted close to me, and put her head on my shoulder. I rested my head on hers.

"I love you" she whispered.

"I love you" I replied. We both logged off inside the first inn we found (thankfully my col in SAO transferred to ALO). IRL, we looked at each other for a while, then my stomach growled. She laughed at me, and then walked into my kitchen to see what I had to eat, and I was glad, because in SAO I couldn't make anything, IRL, my cooking experience is limited to reading box directions and sandwiches. She served up some boxed noodles with fried chicken, which I can't do to save my life. We ate in silence. It became unbearable.

"Do you think we can actually do it?" I asked.

"Do what?" She said, with her mouth full. She is so adorable looking totally informal.

"Save Angelica" I said around a mouthful of chicken and noodles.

She stopped eating. "We can. You are the best VRMMORPG fighter out there! How could we not!"

"But, the World Tree is impossible to beat!" I said.

She stopped eating, and stood up, slapping me. "You defeated Akihiko Kayaba! That was 'impossible'! Baka! Gods! You are scared! I know! I am too! I just know that no matter what, you will save everyone you can! No matter what!" She sat, fuming. She stuffed her face again, and I tried to continue eating, but found it hard.

"Sorry" I mumbled. She got up, and took our clean plates and put them in the sink. We went to bed, ready for the next day. Good thing that today is Friday, I thought, that means we have all of tomorrow and Sunday to play ALO. The next day, we ate a light breakfast, and dived in.

"Link start!" We woke in the inn. The virtual sun was ringing, and I felt stiff. Well, considering your in game avatar doesn't move while you are gone, I can understand the physics behind it. I looked at Argo the Cat, and smiled. She returned that smile. We set off. Once outside, I found a smith, and bought the best knife I could find. It was so much better than my beginner one, its length was a little longer, and the durability made it to where I probably could go days without repair. As I walked out of the shop, grumbling about the price, when I heard a familiar voice…

"Tryth?!" I spun around to see every bodies favorite pink haired blacksmith.

"Liz?!" We hugged.

"Wow, I didn't think I would see the Shadow Reaper in a game like this!" She said.

"He, don't worry, I am here for business. Angelica is inside the tree. I am here to free her. I'm here with…" I was interrupted by…

"Tryth? Liz?" Argo walked up.

"Liz, this is Argo the Cat" I introduced. Well, needless to say, she elbowed me again. They hugged and exchanged greetings.

"So, you got a shop up?" I asked.

"Yup, follow me!" We tailed the smith through the maze of a town. We walked to the outskirts, and inside a building almost identical to the one she had in SAO. The inside was even a perfect replica.

"So, Welcome to Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop!" She said cheerfully. "Let me guess," she drawled to me, "How did it go again? 'Something light, long, and hurts like hell when I hit something'?"

"No, actually, I want the best knife you can get!" This stunned her. She knows how much I care for my longswords.

"Ummm, okay. Are you feeling okay?" I nodded, and chuckled. She went to her back room, her storage room, and brought out…. a knife!

It was simple, the one I got from the npc looked fabulous, but I know the simpler they look, the better they usually are. The twelve inches of dark grey steel looked menacing. The handle was wrapped in simple dark leather. It had to handle guard, but, I don't block much. I took it, marveling in it.

"Does it come in green?" This shocked her even more. She knows I am a fanatic for black. "I'm sorry, but, I am kind of the Emerald Reaper now, so, yeah"

She took it, fiddled with her menu, and the dark steel turned into bright green, as did the leather on the hilt. I nodded my thanks, and sent her a lot of money (one col from SAO equals one yrd from ALO) and was about to walk out, when she asked why we were here.

I hesitated, but I trust the smith. "To rescue a friend who we thought died in SAO, and we believe she is trapped here."

"Ooooh, she" Liz said teasingly, "Wow, Tryth! You are such the ladies man!" Argo growled at her, and I couldn't help it.

"Yeah, tease me again, and I will set my neko on you!" Now, the Cat was growling at me, but it was worth it!

"So, who are we rescuing?" Liz asked.

"Her name is Angelica, I told you about me and her…."

"THERE WAS SOMETHING BETWEEN YOU TWO!" Argo roared.

"No! There wasn't! She was just my best friend! My only friend until I found you! There was nothing! I swear!" Liz was giggling like a schoolgirl the whole time.

"Who is getting neko-ed now!" We both growled at the poor smith. "Well, I want to help!" She proclaimed.

I shook my head. "I don't want anyone in danger. Not ever."

"But we aren't going to die, like in the Death Game! I will be fine!"

I shook my head again. "People need you to help them with weapons!"

"And again, this isn't SAO, it doesn't matter!"

I sighed. "We don't know if the General Manager of ALO can kill us! I won't let you or Argo, or Silica-"

"Yes?" I heard a sweet timid voice behind me. I turned slowly. Since I am in Cait Sith territory, they can hurt me, and I can't hurt them. New rules suck. I saw a small Cait Sith, looking suspiciously familiar…

"Silica!" I yelled, and scooped the young girl into my arms. "It's been so long!" I knew I wasn't hurting the dragon tamer, but I was still over-enthusiastic.

"Please put me down!" I complied with her. "I heard my name?"

"Yeah. I was saying that I won't put you, Liz, or Argo in danger, I just can't." I hung my head, "I am just a coward". I got group hugged.

"That isn't called cowardice. That is caring" Liz said.

"We love that you care! Don't be ashamed!" The normally shy Silica commented.

"I can't lose you either. I trust that you won't leave me. You know how you fight for me, that's why I come with you. The more you have to lose, the harder you fight." Man, I have the best girlfriend (neko-friend?) ever. "Now! Let's go get Angelica!"

I sighed, "yes, we should go now!"


	26. Chapter 26-Return of Lancelot

**thanks for reviewing!**

Separating the World Tree from any of the territories of the elves, was a ring of mountains. We couldn't go over them, because our wings had a height limit, so we had to go through the maze of tunnels, and hope we don't get lost. Or PKed. Liz took point, in her heavy armor. She wielded a mace, just like in SAO. Silica was in between me and Argo, with the Cat/Rat in back. Traversing through these tunnels was long work. I couldn't run ahead and ditch them, or else they might get lost, or attacked. Just as I was thinking this, I saw flickers of light up ahead. Liz looked at me, and I nodded. She extinguished our torch, and we pressed against the wall as a group of Salamanders with a few Spriggans walked by. The Spriggan leader stopped right in front of us. Gladly, before they had rounded the corner, Argo had taught me a concealing spell, so we were invisible…. unless his detection skill….. he grabbed me, and threw me on the ground, pressing a boot against my neck. I moaned in pain, and heard the girls shout my name. After sounds of a struggle, a rough hand picked me up by my collar. "Well well well! What do we have here!" He was a mountain of a man. He radiated Str type."A Shit Sylph traveling with two Cait Sith, and a Leprechaun? This is odd indeed!" Craned my neck, looking at them. There were four Spriggan and seven Salamanders, all of which looked big, and powerful, and the girls were tied up together. Well, time to try something.

"How about we have some fun? How do you want to die, Sylph?" The mountain asked. I am guessing he is the leader of this band. Hmmm….

I laughed maniacally. This caught everyone, even my friends by surprise.

"What's so funny, Sylph?" The man-mountain asked.

"Oh, the fact you think you can kill me!" He scowled.

"You smart ass!" He threw me against the wall, winding me. My health dropped a quarter. Quickly, I did a more thorough examination of my surroundings. Not as much room as I would like, but enough. I stood, and kept laughing. He scowled deeper, and punched…. he blinked in surprise as his prey vanished. "What the…" I tapped his shoulder from behind.

"Hey, Dumbass. Missed" he sung his arm in a wide arc, trying to catch the side of my head. I backed away, laughing the whole time.

"Finally! I can figure out just how good Liz's smithing is in this game. You made a huge mistake not disarming me!" I drew my foot long knife, backhanding it. I took a different stance than before, left foot forward, right hand almost fully extended behind me. I grinned. "Bring it, Dumbass"

"Stop playing with him, we need to go and meet with our main forces, to attack the Sylph-Cait Sith-Undine conference!" Said one of the Spriggan. My eyebrows raised. This is interesting news. I glanced at Argo, and saw she caught the significance.

The Salamander drew a huge broadsword, a weapon made for open spaces, not the confines of a cave. This will be too easy.

"I will bet you any amount of anything that I will kill you within five seconds of our fight starting." I said calmly, my Maugham grandson fit stopping.

"Cocky bastard, huh? I will take that bet! Ten thousand Yrd!" He said, and then charged. I leaped over the tall man, now behind him, facing away, I spun to face his back, slashing repeatedly. Let see how he fares against [Shining Sword]! My sword skill had imported from SAO, so, I was just as over-powered as ever. After I hit five or six times, he exploded into blue light. Less than one second. Hrmph, I am getting slow. Another man, almost as large as the Mountain I just slew, stepped forward. He wore heavy armor. Shit, a def type. He laughed, "Fight me, Sylph Scum!" I gritted my teeth as he swung downwards. I dodged out of the way, but he was fast enough to change his [Vertical] into a [Horizontal] that sent me into a wall. My health in the red, he stepped up to finish his handy work. I closed my eyes, waiting for him to deal the next blow when… I heard shattering glass. I opened my eyes, and saw Sir Lancelot in front of me, fighting all of the enemies, and keeping the, at bay… barely.

"Sir Tryth, would thy please assist me in defeating thyne foes?" He asked, as someone's blade raked across his chest, but did barely any damage, considering the knight armor.

"Thought you would never ask, Lance!" Four dead Spriggan and six dead Salamanders later, we stood panting. "Good job, Lance!" I said to the npc.

"Why, thank you sir." He said humbly, sheathing his blade. I untied my friends, and they thanked me, and told me how awesome I looked. "Don't feed his ego too much! Or I will never hear the end of it!" Scolded my Argo.

"Oh, my Cat, I wouldn't do that to you! Maybe…. not" I mused.

"Whatever!" She yelled, elbowing me, and cutting what was left of my HP in half. "We need to go to the conference! The Sylph, Cait Sith, and Undine leaders are about to be killed!" She said. "They are renegotiating the treaty they signed, allying against the Spriggan-Salamander-Gnome alliance, there will be almost no guards!" I sighed.

"And why do I care about that?" I asked, "How will helping these people help me save Angelica faster?"

"If your leader is killed, they can claim the Sylphlands, and your wings won't work, and anyone can kill you anywhere, slowing your progress."

"Fuck you, Alfheim Online!" I yelled, along with a lot more obscene cursing. I started at a brisk pace, wanting to get the hell out of this cave, and annihilating some Salamanders. Argo was deep in thought as we walked, thinking 'would he care as much if I was the one stuck up there, and not Angelica? He seems to not care about anything but saving her… does he love her and not me?' We emerged from the caves, light making me blink violently.

When my eyes focused, I saw some people on a plateau, not too far away. I spread my wings, and raced to them, not even noticing the dark cloud coming.

I landed on the raised area, and sprinted the rest of the way. The rulers of the three fairy kingdoms looked a annoyed that I was here, but I didn't give them a chance to speak, "Salamanders are preparing to attack here!" I said, not panting at all. Go Agi stat!

"What are you talking about?" Asked one of them, I am guessing the Sylph leader, judging by the green eyes and clothes. "Our scouts would warn us, now, leave. We are on important business."

"Nah," said Alicia Rue, the Cait Sith I met earlier, "He's cool. He can stay. I believe him. If he says Salamanders are attacking, then they are attacking."

That was when my friends made a fortunate appearance.

"Argo the Rat reporting" said my kitty, panting. "Salamander forces we captured were talking about rallying with a larger group, and attacking this conference." She said.

"Now then!" Continued Alicia, "If Argo says it's true, there is no denying it!"

"No matter, we were about to postpone this meeting, looks as though a rainstorm in approaching." Said the Undine leader. I realized all three of these leaders were girls, and all three were checking me out. I blushed, but Argo saved me from further embarrassment.

"That isn't a rain cloud. It's too late to run" she said solemnly. I looked at it and saw what she meant. She was right, it wasn't a cloud. It was hundreds of players from the three kingdoms allied against this meeting. Three figures detached from the main force, and flew to us. They were representatives of their kingdoms. The three landed, and the Salamander stepped forward. "Surrender now, and there won't have to be a bloodbath!"

"Ok, now I am pissed!" I shouted at the sky, "First, you take my best friend, then you kill almost everyone that I care about! Then, you dangle my not dead friend in front of me, like a dong and a bone! Fuck you!" Everyone present was taken aback by ,y sudden outburst.

"What is a noob like you doing at this conference?" Asked the Spriggan.

"Sir Tryth, might thou be as kind as to explain as to what is happening?" Asked my knight. I turned and saw that he had large silver wings that were dissolving.

"What is happening, is a Spriggan, Salamander, and Gnome head are about to roll." He nodded, "Would you care for my assistance, my lord?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, Lance, thanks though." He bowed.

"You think you can take us? The best fighters from our lands?" Asked the gnome.

I sighed. When will people take me seriously?


	27. Chapter 27-BAIN of ALO and Lancelot

**Much thanks to the guy who is almost running this story behind the scenes: Gashadokuro Amanojaku**

 **thanks for everything!**

"Well, you are fast" growled the Salamander after I killed his gnomish partners. "Not good though, very sloppy" this set my teeth on edge. Sloppy after three years in the Death Game? Sure, I am using a weapon I am not used to, but surely he is lying. I decided to play this game.

"Ok, I am sloppy. Then you wouldn't have a problem showing a 'little Shitty Sylph' like me a lesson, would you?"

"Smartass" he growled, but didn't move. Good, he is second guessing himself, that will keep him busy for a while. I turned to my friends, and they nodded, knowing I can take anything that doesn't have immense defense, and for that, I have my very own Lance. I looked at the world leaders, everyone of them stunned by my speed and damage output. Good. I faced the Salamander. "Please tell me you are the best fighter on this planet, I need a warmup before I take on the World Tree". This made all watching and listening gasp. My long blonde hair whipping in the wind, framing my cool, green-blue eyes, I looked like an angel sent to reckon them.

"No one can take the Tree!" Shouted the Salamander. "It's impossible!". He looked like he saw a ghost.

"Oh yeah? Well, in a certain game, called Sword Art Online" this made the, gasp in shock again, "I was the best player. No one could match me. My speed was the highest, my damage output was unrivaled. All of my stats in that game are transferred to this one!" He charged, roaring, "Liar!" I dodged his clumsy attack easily enough, and a quick jab with my knife the the center of his neck was enough to reduce his health to half. Now in the yellow, the salamander said "This is impossible, I have never lost a fight!" I smiled.

"Good, there is a first for everything." I appeared behind him, and sunk my blade deep into his back, right where his heart would have been, instant death.

"Tryth! Watch out!" I heard My friends call. Before I could jump, and sword slipped into my back, through my ribs. Damnit, while I was paying attention to the Salamander, the Spriggan sneaked up on my with his delusion magic.

"Fuck" I spat. There were a few differences between SAO and ALO. For one, in ALO, you have blood. And I could taste something metallic in my mouth. I coughed, and red phlegm came up. Ouch.

"You forgot about me" I heard a sadistic voice say in my ear. The blade slipped out of my ribs, and I exploded. I realized I could still see what was going on. Cool.

I saw Lance stand.

"I, Sir Lancelot of Aincrad challenge thy to a duel of blades!" I sighed. Wow, that guy is really weird, even for an npc. Why would he avenge me? I am coming back in a few minutes!

"If you say so tin can!" Surprisingly, the fight was over almost as soon as it started. The Spriggan went on the offense, slashing all over Lance's armor. Lance just picked him up, threw him in the air, and as he was falling, took off his head in one Slash. Wow, I like that npc!" The leader of the Sylph approached me as Lance sheathed his broadsword. The army dispersed at the sight of two overpowered people, even though I wasn't alive. The female leader raised a hand, spoke some gibberish, and I was alive again. "Wow, thanks!" I said.

"It was the least I could do for protecting us" she replied. "Is there anything else I can get you?" She asked. I grinned.

"Yeah, the best inn that is close to here, disregarding price"

That night, after stuffing our faces, the four of us and Lance sat on beds.

"That *hic* was a good *hic* idea" said Silica.

"I agree with the fair young maiden." Said the knight.

"I got an idea!" Said Argo. "Let's make a guild!" We blinked in surprise. "With Tryth as our leader, we would be unstoppable!"

This was received by:

"Great *hic* idea!"

"Would I have time for smithing though?"

"I think such a proposition is a very bright idea, fair maiden!"

And, "No no no! Absolutely not!"

They stared at me. "And why not?" Asked Liz, standing up, looking angry, "Just because you couldn't protect the Moonlit Black Cats does not mean you need to protect us! We are not in any danger! Just do it!"

Argo looked at me, "What's wrong?" She asked.

"What-what if ALO becomes a Death Game also?" I asked. "I am not good enough to keep all of you safe"

I felt an iron hand on my shoulder as I hung my head. "Thou shalt always have me to help, Sir Tryth! I am in thine service for life!"

I raised my head, and saw the set expressions of them all.

"Blades of Aincrad." I said. They looked confused. "That will be the guild name, BAIN for short." Everyone cheered, even the npc….. that odd, I didn't know npcs had that ability…

"Ok, Lancelot. What's up?" Asked Argo. "You are obviously not an npc, even though you don't have a player cursor above your head. You also came from SAO, so you shouldn't exist anymore!"

"I have no idea what thou art talking about, fair maiden!" He proclaimed.

"Bullshit. There is only one explanation…." she advanced on the poor knight. I watched, amused with these theatrics. She grabbed his left left hand, and swiped down. A menu opened. "That's a little odd, don't you think, knight?" She asked. She read some of it, and then backed away behind me, stuttering incomprehensibly the whole time.

"You… your…. it can't!... you're dead…..how the fuck?" She said.

"What" I asked. By her posture and facial expression, she was scarred.

"He….he…. he is Akihiko Kayaba!" I drew my knife immediately, and Liz and Silica drew their weapons, but got behind me in the big room.

"Let me explain" said the knight.

"And why should I do that?" I asked.

He drew his massive sword, and threw it at my feet. "I am Akihiko Kayaba, but I am not at the same time."

"Explain" I commanded.

"Kayaba is dead. He downloaded his mind onto a computer before he died. I am that program. I know everything he knew, and what he wants done right now."

I crouched deeper, ready to spring into action. I beat him once before, I can do it again. "And what does Kayaba, or you, or whatever, want done?" I asked.

"Angelica to be rescued and Suguo dead." He stated plainly.

"So, you are just a computer program?"

"Yes"

"The whole time?"

"Yes"

"When did you die?"

"About a week before SAO came out"

"Who killed you?"

"Suguo"

This hit us like a deadpan. "What?" I asked.

"Him and I were working together to create the game known as Sword Art Online. One day, he approached me, and told me he wanted to test a theory of his. He wanted to develop technology that could control minds. I knew he would kill me soon, after I denied him help, so I downloaded all of me onto my computer, and online. Also, I am incapable of hurting you, or your friends, my coding prevents me from striking them, so you are safe around me"

I grimaced. The tension was so thick, I could cut it with my knife. "Then, Kayaba" I sheathed my blade against the small of my back. "We have a common goal, so, until that goal is achieved, allies?" I held out my hand.

"Allies" he shook it.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Shouted Liz. "He could kill us!"

Argo spoke. "He could have already. He is a def type, so, Tryth is useless against him. If we fight, we are screwed, but he hasn't attacked. If Tryth thinks it wise to trust this… thing, than I do too."

I nodded my thanks to her. The next day, I had the Sylph leader make us a guild, called the Blades of Aincrad. BAIN.


	28. Chapter 28-World Tree

**I hope you like how I introduced Kayaba as a good guy, and his is important to the gang, especially [spoiler alert], against Suguo**

We logged off soon after within an inn, that I payed for, of course. I took of the NerveGear. I looked at the window of my room, and saw it was dark out. Hrmph, we should pay better attaention to the time. Before logging off, we agreed to meet the next day at ten AM, so we could eat, sleep, and then eat breakfast. I looked at Argo, who was returning my look. Before anything intimate happened, our stomachs demonstrated the mating cry of the humpback whale. We giggled at the audio display.

"Hey, I'll go heat us something up for dinner" she volunteered. I nodded my approval, and she left. I sat, recollecting over what just happened.

First, we learned I am no where near as good as we thought. Second, Lancelot is Akihiko Kayaba. That was a huge shocker, but after he explained it, it made sense. Third, his explanation. Suguo killed him a while ago, and all Kayaba is now is a program? That is hard to take in.

"Dinner is ready, love!" She called. Hrmph, now she is calling me "love"? Oh well.

"Coming kitty!"

"That is the last time! Do you hear me!" I giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Yes I do, love!"

I walked into my kitchen, and sat next to her at the circular table. She had made ramen, which smelled sooooo delicious to my starving body. I wolfed it down, and after I finished, pushed my plate back and groaned. She looked at me reproachfully.

"What?" I asked.

"Your table manners are terrible!" She responded with.

"Well, considering that I was trapped in a Death Game, where I lived by myself and ate by myself most of the time, and most of the time while walking, cut me some slack!"

"No!" She shook her head, "I was in the exact same circumstances, and I still have manners!"

I giggled again, which made her unable to keep a straight face, so she choked out, "What's so funny?" Which somehow, made me laugh harder.

"Your face is so cute when you are mad!" She punched me half heartedly. The scolding over, and her meal over, we went to bed, and curled up with each other. I was about to fall asleep, with her warm body pressed against mine soothingly, when she spoke, "Hey, Tryth?" I sighed mentally. Verbally, I grunted. "Hrmph."

"If I was the one captured, and being held prisoner, would you try as hard to get me out?"

My eyes flew open. What is this about. "Umm, Argo? Why are you asking?"

I felt her sit up behind me. "Well, I see the expression you where when you talk about her, and when you saw her in that photo, you looked livid with rage. I was wondering if you loved her and no-" I cut her off.

"Ok, dumbass" not the best start, but, how else could I? "If it puts your mind at ease, then no, I would not try and break you out as badly as I am now, for Angelica." I turned in the bed to see her look crestfallen. I continued, "I would try so much harder, in fact, I would not eat, or sleep, until I had you back in my arms, safe". I saw a tear fall from her head, while she was looking straight down. I stroked the dark air out of her face, and pulled her chin up. I kissed her deeply. Her tears weren't of depression, but more of relief and joy. I took my lips off hers, and whispered, "Nothing can keep me from you, not Kayaba, not Suguo, not anything".

She wrapped me in a hug. "Thank you, I thought I was loosing you" I rubbed her back soothingly.

"Never, love"

I woke the next morning to see an empty bed beside me, and sounds coming from the kitchen. I was about to sit up when Argo walked in, with a tray of food. "Well, rise and shine! How about some breakfast in bed?" I blinked rapidly in surprise.

"Okay, you never do anything for free, not even for me….. what is the cost for this?"

She smirked with mirth. "Oh, maybe a date…"

I sighed, "That doesn't sound too bad!"

"At the Couples Diner…"

"Ok, that's a big price…." the Couples diner was a restaurant that was made for romantic evenings. Deep reds all over, and low lighting. Candle chandeliers over each table, and it had rooms on top, on the next floor, for when the romantic evening got… well, romantic.

"And, we are going! As soon as we get Angelica back, we are going!" She proclaimed.

I sighed. "Well, knowing you, my life will go to hell unless I agree…"

"Exactly! So choose carefully Baka!" Great, another pet-name! And this one was derogatory!

"Ffffiiiinnnneeee" I groaned, nad she almost slammed the tray in my lap, stealing in glee.

"Yaaayyy!" Seeing that look on her face made it almost worth it, especially since the prices at the Diner were through the roof. She spoon fed me, which I was very indignant about, and afterwards, we dived into ALO.

We were fist up. The other's avatars were still in their beds, immobile. All except Lance/Kayaba. He was standing there patiently awaiting our arrival. I decided to get some shopping done. I bought some potions from npcs, whose prices I hated, but payed grudgingly. Well, it was a drop in the pacific compared to my lump sum!

I walked in the door, to see Liz and Silica stretching out the kinks in their virtual muscles. I threw a bag of potions to each of them.

"How much did this cost!" Breathed Silica.

"Knowing him, absolutely nothing!" Said Liz. "You haven't been told how much he has, have you?"

Silica shook her head, so Liz bent over and whispered in her head. When Liz pulled away, Silica was scraping her bottom jaw off the floor. "Wow" was her only comment.

"So, shall the Blades of Aincrad and Kayaba leave now?" I asked. They nodded in agreement. We walked out of the inn, spread our wings, and took flight. Even Kayaba was agile in the air, even with all of that heavy armor. We flew towards the base of the Tree. It was huge. It looked like there were two intertwining trunks, that reached hundreds, maybe thousands of feet into the air. The trunk's width was larger than the town at its base. It looked beautiful, yet imposing. To me, it was very foreboding.

We were tight next to the door when our wings gave out. It seemed everyone but me landed gracefully, while I got a sore ass for my trouble.

After everyone giggled at my discomfort and embarrassment, we looked at the tree. The doors themselves that lead into the trunk were at least thirty feet high. I walked up to it, and a notice appeared in front of me.

Would you like to start the [World Tree] quest?

I looked at my compatriots, they nodded, and I pressed the [Yes] icon. The tree opened slowly, with a creak. We walked inside. It was huge, almost unrealistically huge. No, this was unrealistic, this was enormous. Many thousands of blue lights, in the shape of a cirle were plastered to the walls of the trunk. A dull, and low 'hum' foreshadowed something that I couldn't place. The light directly in front of me glowed, and a [Tree Lancer] spawned. It rushed to us, and I flashed behind it, a critical hit to the neck, killing it instantly.

"Well, that's not too hard, we can do this!" I shouted over my shoulder.

"You dumbass!" Shouted Liz and Argo in unison. "You are never supposed to say that's its 'not too hard'! That just triggers-"

They were cut off by a louder, and lower 'hum'. All of the lights were glowing, and a lot more mobs were spawning. Oh shit.

I looked at Kayaba/Lance. He nodded. We both took flight, hacking and slashing at everything. His defense made him nearly invulnerable to their attacks, and my speed making me unhittable. My knife flashed dangerously, killing dozens upon dozens of them per second. But, this became very tiresome after about thirty minutes. For every one we cut down, ten more took its place. I started feeling that exhaustion. I started getting clumsy. I started getting nicks and scratches. After clearing a circle around me, I took a few seconds to take in the situation. Kayaba had as much HP as I did, the only difference was that his was draining slowly, but consistently. Time to initiate a combo! I appeared at his side, and said "Do you have the skill, [Shining Sword]?"

"Yes, I do," he commented. "Ahh, that's what you are planning" he said. We got back to back, and became a spiral of death. [Shining Duo Hellstorm] was its name. It was only possible with two people who had the skill [Shining Sword]. It allows us to create a sphere of death, moving so fast that anything that got caught within this sphere was carved finer than a Thanksgiving turkey. This attack was perfect for the situation, had there not have been infinite amounts of the enemies. This technique took a lot of stamina, and we were soon drained, and cut down. Argo caught my little floating flame, and Liz got Kayaba. They took us out of the tree, until we re-spawned.

"Well, that sucked!" I said.

"Baka! I told you so!" Scorned Argo.


	29. Chapter 29-Birdcage

**Gashadokuro Amanojaku:Thanks for all the input!**

Well, that was embarrassing. We went in, all gung-ho, thinking that I could take anything that went my way. Not only was this embarrassing, but it was depressing! It made me think over how the hell I beat Kayaba, and cleared SAO. Maybe he isn't as strong as I thought, considering that we both took that Dungeon on. Him a Def/Str type, me a Agi/Int type. Opposite sides of the coin. If we couldn't take that damned Tree on, how could anyone? Maybe we weren't that good at all, I mean, the only way I could beat him was because I was fighting for Argo's life, and am I fighting for something I hold dear? Or am I just fighting? I don't know Angelica that well, we only spent a year and a half together… fuck you Tryn! She is your friend! How could you think of such things?! Outside of ALO, I voiced this to Argo. Her reaction was a really hard slap to the face. "That is the kind of attitude that makes you fail! She is in danger, and you are here to free her! Or are you going to chicken out?" I started studying my shoes.

"I don't know if I can help her. If I try, I am sure she will die right in front of my eyes! How do we know that Suguo hasn't rigged her like we were rigged in SAO?" She slapped me again. But this one was accompanied with a peck to the cheek. She grabbed my chin and pulled my head to look at her. Where she kissed me was tingling. "Now, listen, Baka!" She said, as though scolding a three year old. "You are going to bust her out, no ,alter what! You know that she will not die as long as you are there to protect her! You are the hero of the Death Game, you are the leader of the Blades of Aincrad, you are my love! I know you can do this!" She pressed her lips against mine, her tongue slithering into my mouth. As always, I reveled in the feeling of kissing her, but it felt different. Almost forced.

"I am still unsure…" I said, almost on the verge of tears.

"Baka! We have Kayaba in our corner! He is the creator of the same system the ALO runs on!"

"But Suguo wrote that program too! He knows it as well as Kayaba!" I said. She slapped me a third time. I flopped back on my bed, and started sobbing.

She grabbed the collar of my t-shirt, and pulled me up, hugging me.

"You will succeed. I know it. I, Argo the Rat, believe in you. And you know whatever I think, is right" I took comfort in her words. I am just being stupid. We have Kayaba, me and him can do anything! We ate a huge dinner, and slept. We have school the next day, even though I am an adult, and already know everything they are teaching me (YouTube is sooo awesome!), I go, mostly to help tutor the other kids who don't understand the material as well as I. Argo hated it when the blonde-bimbos came up to me, with their really low cut shirts, and really high skirts. They always seemed to direct the conversation to how handsome I am, or how hot they are. That exchange always ended with Argo pulling me away, saying that I already had plans that evening. After school ended, we ate again, planning to pull an all-nighter in ALO.

We met outside the World Tree, for round 2. We entered, and Kayaba and I hacked these mobs to shreds. It got very bad when some of them learned to throw their lances, which I dodged easily, but Kayaba wasn't so lucky. They did hit him, spears going through his armor, and sticking there, but still did little damage. We landed, huffing and puffing.

"This seems to be futile. They spawn faster than even we can kill them" the knight said.

"Then how about we crash the party!" I heard a familiar Cait Sith leader shout. I turned to see Alicia Rue, with about a hundred Cait Sith… riding dragons. Wow, that's not impressive at all. She was accompanied by Sylph warriors and Undine mages. Oh, yeah.

"So, want some help?" She asked, astride one of the great beasts.

"Oh absolutely!" I shouted. We fought with renewed vigor, even Liz, Argo, and Silica pitching in! Though, they spawned faster still. My friends and I (and Kayaba) re grouped on the ground.

"Goddamn!" Swore Liz. "We can't beat this!" We sat, recuperating, for the next onslaught.

"I have an idea…" started Argo. She looked at the knight, "How about we use your and Tryth's [Shining Sword] skill, but with four people…."

The knight nodded. "There is a sub skill, called [Shining Star]. It requires at least three knife wielders, and a sword user. We have those requirements."

"Awesome, so what about me?" Asked the smith.

"You will follow us, stay close. We will be moving very fast." She nodded.

"So, how do we do this?" I interjected. He explained it, and it sounded knight stood, holding his sword above him, pointing straight up. Argo, Silica and I stood around him, backs against him, our knives pointed straight forward. Then it started.

Kayaba activated his [Shining Sword] skill, and we started spinning. Fast. I felt like I was going to throw up some virtual bile, but, the system doesn't allow that. I was vaguely aware that we were going up…. fast. We stopped spinning, and we were above the mobs… a huge gaping hole in the wall of them. I looked above me, and there was a large white wall, with seams in it.

"Kayaba, your up!" I shouted. He might be able to get us inside somehow. The mobs turned from their Cait Sith, Sylph, and Undine targets, to face us, who dared to get close to the doorway they were protecting. Oh, shit.

"Little faster please!" Shouted Liz.

They advanced. Oh, shit. So close, yet so far. Then, I heard a hiss behind me, and I felt like I was jerked out of my skin. When I landed, I landed hard. I sat up, to see us inside a stark white hallway. I saw my friends and Kayaba near me. Well, we got here virtually unscathed, except for my HP bar, in the red. I layed on my back, and sighed. Part one done, next, part two. I stood.

"So, where to, Kayaba?" Asked Silica.

"This way." The knight led us down the never ending twists and turns of sterile white. After this is all over with, I think I will gladly take Argo to that Couples Diner. Gladly. Kayaba stopped in front of a door, and it opened. Outside was a tree branch, thicker than many humans strapped together. On the end of the branch was a birdcage…

Nothing could stop me from dashing at that cage. "Angelica!" I shouted, and grabbed the bars.

"Tryth?" She asked. She was wearing very little. She had on a bikini, which showed us the many cuts and scrapes along her arms. Kayaba appeared beside me, gently pushed me out of the way, and with a single punch, broke down the door. I rushed to the girl I haven't seen in almost two years. I hugged her tight, and she did me. "I thought you were dead" I whispered in her ear.

"And I thought you were" she said.

"I am sorry I didn't come sooner"

"You are here now, that's what matters"

I heard a voice that set my teeth on edge. "Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion" I let go of the nearly bare girl in front of me. I looked into her eyes. She was scared. I could see her trembling. I turned. In front of me was a tall blonde man, with blue eyes. He wore light liver armor, and a green cloak on the outside. He had a one handed longsword at his waist.

"Ooooh, it's the Shadow Reaper of Sword Art Online, pleased to make your acquaintance!" He said this with a mock bow. "I am Oberon, and Fairy King." We weren't in the cage anymore. We were somewhere pitch black, but I could still see. My friends were standing, weapons at the ready. I shook my head to them, not yet.

"Suguo, what have you done to her?" I asked the man in front of me.

"What are you talking about?" He said, straightening.

I gestured to the dust on her body.

"Oh, those" he mused. "Oh, we had some fun" the way he said "fun" made me want to rip out his throat.

"Liz, you are about the same size as Angelica, give her some clothes please". The smith rushed over, and I heard mumbled thanks behind me.

"What are you planning?" I asked. He laughed sadistically


	30. Chapter 30-End of Oberon the Fairy King

"What am I planning?" The man asked. "The oldest cliché in the book! World domination!" The scene shifted, into a throne room, like that of the one in SAO. With crimson banners and tapestries hung, and just a gothic look all around. The maniac continued. "Oh, Kayaba didn't explain it to you? Well then, here goes!" This is going to suck, I can feel it.

"Kayaba and I were developing a game, called Sword Art Online. This game was designed primarily to learn about the brain, we could study it while it didn't know we were studying it! Now, I am on the edge of a breakthrough! I took three hundred of the survivors, and kept them in full dive! My goal? To control the brain! Kayaba chickened out, saying stupid things about human rights, but, once we have control of everyone, there won't be a need for human rights! There won't be crime, there won't be famine, everyone will work together!" He laughed for a few minutes, before continuing further. "The odd thing is, is that when we kill someone, we learn from it, yet, no matter what I do, this bitch" he gestured towards Angelica, now fully clothed, "just won't die! My scientists are working Day and night to find the program protecting her, the one written by Kayaba. Somehow, after I killed the son of a bitch, he is still haunting me! Oh well, she will die, we will study her, and we will continue!" I felt my anger boiling. They are going to kill her!

"You sick bastard!" I yelled.

"Instead of calling me a bastard, you should be helping me!" He said, still with that gleam in his eyes, "No more war, no more conflict! No more negative emotions!"

"You belong in a straight jacket!" I retorted. "You would end what makes humans human! You would stop love! Compassion! Happiness! Friendship!"

"That is the point!" He said. "It is friendship that sparks gangs, and clans, shunning others. This would therefore, start conflict, that I can now fix!"

I shook my head. "That life would sound boring! Who would rule over this sheep population?"

"Why, I am the god of Alfheim Online, why not the world! This is obvious that we will not make each other see our ways with words, how about with steel?" He drew the broadsword at his waist.

"Now you are speaking my language!"

He fiddled with a menu. "I have turned off the pain inhibitors, we will feel everything that happens to us as though this were IRL, as you gamers say" we circled each other. "Be careful!" Shouted Argo, voice shaking.

"He, you know me!" I said with false bravado.

"That's why I am cautioning you"

She sounds as scared as I felt. Well, fighting is what I do. He came at me unexpectedly, swinging that clumsy sword faster than should be possible. I dodged, with some difficulty, and was about to activate my ultimately powerful [Shining Sword] skill, but he changed his [Vertical] into a [Diagonal] skill, biting deep into my arm. I backed away quickly, and gasped in pain. I looked at my arm, and saw blood leaking down it. A lot of blood. Well, that sucks that he added blood into the mix. Unfortunately, it was my right arm wounded. I flexed it to see if it was usable, but it hurt like a bitch. Well, that's the end of that. I took my knife in my left hand, ignoring the pain.

"Hurts doesn't it?" His eyes gleamed. "I love hearing others scream in agony!" I gritted my teeth. Let's do this! I activated [Shining Sword], and lunged, slashing, hacking, slicing, and stabbing faster than the flash. Somehow, he dodged just as fast. He punched, and I flew a few dozen feet. That hurt. My health was in the red. Damn!

"Tryth!" Screamed Argo. She appeared at my side, with Liz, Silica, and Lance/Kayaba. Argo shoved a health potion down my throat, but my HP didn't go up. Well, that sucks!

"Ha, just noticed potions don't work here?" Asked the sadist. "Well, I have had fun, but now to torment you!" All of a sudden, I was pressed flat against the ground. I felt like my one hundred sixty four pounds just turned to four hundred. I looked to see my friends were having the same problem… all expect Kayaba…

"This is over, Suguo!" Said the knight valiantly. The knight was facing Suguo one versus one. The god of Aincrad versus the god of ALO.

"Well, how do you like Gravity Magic? It will be introduced in the next update. Well, Akihiko Kayaba. Nice to see you again!" The blonde king gave a mock bow.

"Cut this shit, Suguo. We will fight, here and now!" Kayaba fiddled with his menu, and I saw a notification:

Link dying is turned on, if you die in game, you die IRL.

Oh shit. Kayaba means business.

"I hope you realize, Kayaba, that this means that when you die, your program will be deleted?"

"I understand the risks." And they fought. This fight was over as fast as my battle, with Suguo as the victor, and Kayaba missing a head. Liz screamed.

"I'm not ready to die!" Suguo approached her.

"To bad, sweetheart!" And he shoved his sword into her back. Her screams punctuated the air. I struggled to get up, but I couldn't. As I was trying, I heard the sound of breaking glass. My anger grew.

"Now you, little girl!"

"No, she is too young!" Shouted Argo, as I continued to struggle.

"So?" He asked. I was almost on my knees, when he noticed. "Ah, trying to save her, are we? Can't have that" and the gravity increased, myself flat on the ground. To make matters worse, Silica was crying. She reached out to me, and I tried to take her hand, but we were inches away. She screamed as well when the sword angered her back, the agony apparent in her eyes. She gave me one last look that said "help", and she died also.

"SUGUO!" I roared, trying to stand. He made his way to Angelica, who was also trying to get off the ground. He said. "Oh, by the way, I lied. I could have killed you at any point. I just wanted you as bait for the Shadow Reaper!"

Angelica looked me in the eyes. I was sobbing. She said "Kill this bastard for me" and her head was separated from her body. She too, exploded in blue lights.

I was crying hard, Argo looking into my eyes. "It's okay, my little Baka. It's okay."

"No!" I said, trying to stand again. "It's not!"

"Wow, you still have some fight? What if I kill your girlfriend?"

I was totally erect, staring Suguo in the eyes. "System command" I shouted.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Stopping you" was my answer, "You won't win! System command, login Identification, Akihiko Kayaba!"

"What?" He asked. A notification appeared in front of me, that said:

Login successful.

I grinned. "System command, end process [Gravity Magic]". I felt the pressure on me release, and I heard Argo let out a sigh of relief.

"What? How the hell?"

"Kayaba told me that I am destined to stop you, so I thought that he gave me a way to!"

I unsheathed my knife. "Now that you don't have the advantage of the System behind you, this won't take long!."

I was everywhere, slicing, hacking and stabbing, dealing hundreds of thousands of points of damage. He lay on the ground, looking like a bloody mess with blonde hair. "Please, mercy" he said.

"My mercy ended the second your sword slipped into Lisbeth's back." I took off his head, ending the evil known as Suguo. "System command, revive players Lisbeth, Silica, and Angelica." I heard the sound of something spawning, and then crying. I turned to see Silica wrapped in Angelica's arms, sobbing saying "I don't want to die". Liz was sitting with her eyes shut.

"You won't have to, Silica!" I said. She let go of Angelica, and turned around and looked at me. Her eyes spread wide, and she ran to me, hugging me tight.

"Thank you Tryth!" She said. Liz opened her eyes, got that same expression, and joined the hug. Angelica decided she should too. They let go, with tears of joy in their eyes. Argo was standing there sheepishly, and the I wrapped her in a hug, pressing my lips against hers. She loosened in the kiss.

"I love you" I said to her. "Nothing will take you from me"

"I love you too." She said.

"Ah hem, well, love birds, how are we getting out of here?" Liz teased.

I sighed. I have the best friends ever.

 **End of ALO arc**


	31. Chapter 31- Seijirō Kikuoka

**Beginning of GGO arc**

 **thank you to "thunderwolf7226", "TheRealPower", and "Gashadokuro Amanojaku" for your input!**

We stood outside The Couple's Diner. I gulped down the last of whatever was giving me an uneasy feeling, and held the door open for Argo. I was wearing a button down shirt tucked into slacks, and her in an un-Argo-like black dress. The walls were a soft pink, the lighting was low, and all the tables were two-sweaters. A greeter said "hello, welcome to the Couple's Diner. Take any available seat." We sat down somewhere near the back of the room. "So" started Argo. "Is it as bad as you thought?"

"No" I said. "It's worse" she giggled at my tone of voice. She also knew that I was doing this for her, so she was in a great mood. For some reason, she preferred this to me risking my life over and over again. I wonder why?

"Well, I think it's romantic!" She said, a fake pout on her face.

"And I do as well…. a little too romantic. Any second they are going to bring us a single bowl of spaghetti, and we are going to kiss just because we were sharing a noodle…"

"Well, that's the plan" said a female voice behind me. I craned my neck around, and looked at the source. It was a tallish woman, early twenties. She was carrying… you guessed it, a bowl of spaghetti.

"Speak of the devil, and he hath appear." I said in an ominous voice.

"Don't be that way!" Argo scolded.

"But this is the cheesiest thing ever!"

"We don't make our spaghetti with cheese, sir" the waitress commented.

"Ugh!" Was the best I could get out. She placed the bowl down between us on the small table, and two waters. "I will bring wine in a moment.". We dug in. Argo had taught me some manners, so I wasn't piling all the food in like I did at home. Of course, the food she makes is so good, it's hard not to pile it in. The food was good, not as good as Argo's cooking, but it was still good. As promised, the waitress brought some white wine. I never had alcohol before, and was not scrambling to try it. Of course, the clichè happened. We were eating, and it just so happened that the strand of pasta I had on my fork….. was connected to her fork. She stuck it in her mouth, and wiggled her eyebrows adorably. I sighed, and did the same. We were getting closer, my eyes were closing...preparing for the kiss…

"Ah hem" I heard behind me, as I was half an inch from Argo.

I broke the spaghetti, and turned around. I saw a man in a black suit and tie. "What you want?" I demanded, a little peeved.

"I am to take you to HQ." he said in an even tone.

"And if I don't want to go?" I said, childish attitude creeped into my voice.

"I am to take you to HQ" he said, same even tone. I groaned internally.

"Okay buddy. I'm bringing Argo"

"No" he said evenly" this startled me.

"Then I am not going"

Another two men walked in. Oh, come on. I have been taking self defense classes, so one guy I can take, but three?

"Hey, it's okay" Argo said, "If some guys in suits are asking for you, go, just be back by midnight!"

"Oh come on! Your giving me a curfew?"

"Yup!"

"Fine" I started walking with them, following the, outside. I couldn't resist calling over my shoulder one last comment, "Bye, Argo the Cat!"

"Shut up!" She yelled after me. She was probably going to say worse, but remembered we were in public. I almost laughed at her. Outside, and SUV (black) was waiting. The windows were tinted black. One of them opened a door, and I sat inside, in the back. The leather was black, and everything was black. The three men climbed in, two in front, and the other one beside me.

"You going to tell me where we are going?" I asked. No response.

"Hmm, you three going to be assholes the whole time?" The guy's jaw next to me clenched. Good, I pissed him off. We drove in silence, and when we were near the center of Tokyo, the guy next to me handed me a long black cloth.

"Really? After all we have gone through together?" I said with mock pain. He scowled, and I let him tie it over my face. We drove for a few more minutes, and then it stopped. I heard the car engine turn off, and a hand on my shoulder, leading me out, and then in a building. I was walking for a while, and then in an elevator. Then more walking. Finally, I was told to stop. My blindfold wa taken off, and the light blinded me for a were in an office, bland colors all around. A man was sitting at a desk in front of me. He had shortish brown hair, and matching eyes with glasses. He sat, his elbows on his desk, and hands clasped together in front of his face.

"You may leave now" he said to the man beside me. He left without a word.

"Hello Tryn, my name Seijirō Kikuoka. I am with the government, and I am trying to clean up this SAO and Suguo mess" his voice was kind, though I don't trust many people nowadays.

"And why couldn't Argo come?"

He blinked rapidly in surprise. "I never said anything about her not coming."

"They didn't allow her to come"

"Then let's remedy that" he handed me a notepad. "We will meet at that restaurant in an hour. You can bring Argo, you are in no danger. Neither is she"

"And why the hell should I trust you?"

He smiled. "I have no reason for you. By the way, we will be talking about the SAO incident, and ALO. And, I will have no guards with me. You are going to be dropped off at your house. For obvious reasons, you will have to be blindfolded." I nodded. This time, I tied the cloth over my face, and I was put where he promised. The SUV drove off, and I walked into my house. "Argo, I'm home"

I was pounced on. "Baka! If you call me a cat one more time I will… I will… I will do something really bad!" She was on top of my, and I was laying on the ground.

"Argo…."

"Yes?"

"Well, for one, that wasn't very threatening…" I said slowly, not wanting to point out the second.

"Aaaannnndddd?" She prompted.

"You are a neko" she was wearing a bra, panties, and cat ears. She slapped me again.

"Hey! What was that one for?!"

"I dressed up like this for you, and that's the best you could say?"

"Sorry! I was surprised you would do that willingly! That's all! I am so sorry that I wasn't turned on by that, I wasn't focused on you, I was focused on being abducted by the government! Geez!"

She got off me, "yeah, sorry. I knew you probably not be happy when you got here, so I was trying to surprise you." I got up, and kissed her gently.

"Yeah,thanks for caring, I blew my top. But we have more important things to discuss" I explained what happened to me, and her eyes opened wide. She nodded.

"Leave the talking to me!" She said. I smirked.

"Well, duh! I don't want to screw this up! You are much better at this diplomatic BS than I am"

"And that is why I will always outsmart you!"

"Except that time when…."

"That never happened."

"And when…"

"I was messing around"

"And…"

"That one doesn't count" I giggled. Still able to make her uncomfortable. He, that's what she gets for assaulting me at the door.

"Hey, get dressed, we got to be there in" I checked my phone, "Twenty minutes, so, let's hurry" she did, and we walked down to the restaurant. We arrived with a few minutes to spare, and we walked in. I saw Seijirō Kikuoka in a corner booth, and we joined him.

"Hello Tryn, Argo" he said, same polite voice.

"Argo, this is Seijirō Kikuoka, the guy who had me kidnapped"

"I did not have you kidnapped!" He said, aghast.

Argo spoke before me, "Yeah right. He had no choice, your men bullied him out of the Couple's Diner!"

"I had nothing to do with that! All I asked them to do was request you to come to me!"

I interrupted Argo's retort, "Ladies, ladies, let's not fight. Kikuoka, please don't piss her off, I have to live with her, and she will take it out on me" he nodded in understanding, and Argo punched me lightly.


	32. Chapter 32-Deaths Again

"I guess it's time to spill the beans." Said Kikuoka. "I did not bring you here just for info on the Sword Art Online incident." We sat down. Before we arrived, Argo had formulated a plan. I would do the talking, even though she originally thought that I would screw up horribly, and she would spend her time studying him. "What do you mean?. I asked. Argo had guessed that something like this would happen. No one from the government has no ulterior motives. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, gathering his thoughts. It was fortunate for him that a waitress came to our table at the moment he was going to speak.

"May I take your order?. She asked, smacking gum in her mouth, a notepad and pen at the ready for whatever we asked for.

"Ahh, yes," said Kikuoka, "The Daily Special please, three of them" the daily special today consisted of six grilled shrimp, mashed potato, and mixed steamed vegetables. "M'kay. Drinks?" She asked.

"Tea" he said, "three, unsweetened". She wrote this down, and walked away to relay the orders to the chef.

When she was out of earshot, I glared at the government man. "You are not out of the woods, yet"

He seemed to roll his eyes. "Nothing gets past you"

"And flattery will get you nowhere. You would have a better chance getting Argo to strip dance in the center of Tokyo than to get me to warm up to you from such blatant comments" he looked at me in surprise.

"Wow, you are very smart indeed!"

"Again with the flattery. The reason I can catch this is having the best SAO Info Broker as a lover" under the table, Argo's hand squeeze mine. 'You are doing great' the gesture said, 'keep it up'. "Well, explanations, now!"

"Fine, I will drop the act." He said. "I understand that Akihiko Kayaba trapped a little over ten thousand people in a game. He then took the guise as the man named 'PoH', leader of the murder guild, Laughing Coffin."

"Onto the part I don't know. All of this I already told the authorities, and I don't need a recap"

"Fine then. We also recently found out, the Kayaba was long dead before the game was released. Killed by his partener, Nobuyuki Sugou."

"Again, already knew this"

"And how is that?" He asked.

I looked to Argo, and she nodded. "Kayaba told us" this caught him by surprise. I kept a cocky smile from spreading on my face.

"And how did he do that?"

"He downloaded his memory and personality onto his computer, that was how he controlled SAO. In the game, he was PoH, but also he was what I thought was an npc, named Lancelot, Knight of Aincrad, and he was loyal to me after I defeated him in a fight. He then came to us in ALO, though at the time we didn't know how. We found out that he wasn't Lancelot, but was Kayaba, well, Argo found out, and he helped us defeat Sugou. He also was the one who told me about the [System Command]s, that allowed me to bring back my dead friends."

He nodded. "Well, we didn't know that much." I was satisfied that I knew something the government didn't. "Anything else?" He asked. I shook my head.

"That is all I know"

"Hmm, interesting. Well, here is some recent news. There is a VRMMORPG called 'Gun Gale Online', GGO for short." He was going to continue, but the waitress arrived with our food and drinks. We thanked her, and he resumed talking. "About a week ago, a man in a tattered green cloak, wearing a metal mask, was seen in a bar. This isn't anything extraordinary, people dress oddly online all the time. What was the odd part, was that when the winner of the 'Bullet Of Bullets, BOB, the in game mega-tournament, came on the television in game, he stood up, shouted something about being named 'Death Gun', and shot the television. At the same time, the winner of the BOB died of heart failure" I gasped.

"But, isn't that impossible? Everyone ditched the old NerveGear, for the new AmuSpheres! They don't emit microwaves, so they are safe!"

"Exactly. Is there any way someone can kill in a game, and consequently, kill the person IRL?" I thought about it.

"No. No way" I said after a minute of thinking. "That is impossible"

"That's what we thought…" it was obvious that he wanted to say more, and we dug into the food that was starting to cool. When we finished, Argo said her first words of the meeting.

"You want us to go into GGO, join the BOB, and figure out who is responsible." Kikuoka looked surprised.

"Wow, Tryn, you have a very remarkable girlfriend, indeed!"

"Yup, I am the luckiest man in Japan… no, the world." This must have been a good idea to say, because she squeezed my hand again.

"Yes, in fact, I do want you to enter the BOB. I didn't think about you bringing Argo, and, if this man has found a way to PK like this, it might be a good idea to not bring her along." The official said.

"I agree, I won't risk her"

Argo fumed, "I can take care of myself!"

"That's what you said when I had to save you from that boss in SAO…" she kicked me under the table. I sighed. "Besides, what makes you think that I would do this anyways?"

The man smiled. "Thought you would ask. Here is one, if he brings this ability into ALO, Argo is in danger. Two, there is a very large reward. Three, you are a nice guy"

"Flattery" I warned.

"Worth a try" he shrugged.

I sighed. "Fine,I will do it."

"What?!" Shouted Argo, "And what if you die?"

"Hey, Kayaba tried… and failed! Sugou tried…. and failed. I am sure this Death Gun is a pushover!" She grumbled.

"Besides, with the money I could buy you a nice ring…" I left the sentence hanging, and she got the drift.

"You mean…"

"Yup, get married"

She squealed and I laughed at her. "So, Kikuoka, when do I go full-dive?" I asked.

"We have a hospital room all set."

Argo stopped freaking out over my proposition. "Wait… hospital room?"

"It is so we can monitor his vital signs, and pull him out of need be." The official waved the waitress over, and paid the bill. "Don't worry, he will be in the best care. And, we won't take that much of his time. Only about four hours a day, if that's fine." This seemed to placate Argo.

"One requirement!" I interrupted. "You are paying for our next date at the Couple's Diner, since you ruined the first one!" Argo looked at me, surprised at this.

"I thought you hated that place!" She said.

I grinned, "It grew on me" she giggled.

Kikuoka nodded, "Only fair I guess. I will expect you at the Tokyo Central Hospital next Monday, at noon. Room two forty." He walked away. Hrmph.

"Do you really like the Diner?" Argo asked unexpectedly. I nodded, a smile on my face.

"Yup, other than the fact my experience has been ruined by the government, yeah, I do like it."

"You are the best boyfriend ever!"

I nodded, and we walked out, hand in hand, back to my house. Someone killing in video games again? How? Maybe they created the AmuSphere, like Kayaba created the NerveGear… no, the AmuSphere is incapable of killing. While the NerveGear uses microwaves to keep you immobile and to read your mind, the AmuSphere uses small electrical pulses, and its max power output is not even enough to hurt someone, let alone kill!

"Earth to Tryth, this is Houston, do you read me? Over" said Argo, waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked.

"Oh, sorry, zoned out."

She nodded, suddenly solemn. "Yeah, thinking about the PKer, Death Gun?"

"Yup."I opened the door, and let us in, locking it behind me. "He can't be using the AmuSpheres to kill, they don't emit enough electricity to kill. So how does he do it?"

"You will figure it out, especially when you come home, and tell me all about it, so I can do the thinking while you do the fighting!"

"Best girlfriend ever"

"Suck up!"

"Well, it works" I said, kissing her.

"Yes it does"

 **Yes, I made Kikuoka a little bit of a jerk, but then, this isn't cannon**


	33. Chapter 33-GGO

**to 'TheRealPower': I have absolutely no reason to get upset with you, I asked for criticism, and you gave it! Also, at the beginning of the story, I described Tryn/Tryth as being feminine looking**

 **thanks to all who reviewed! I am forever grateful!**

I knocked on the door to room two hundred forty, in the Tokyo Central Hospital. I heard a feminine voice call "come in", so I entered. The first thing I saw was a nurse. If you ever go to a Halloween store, and venture to the adult section, you will find a costume called 'Slutty Nurse'... this woman was rocking the blouse with the top four buttons not done, and the skirt the went so high, I was pretty sure it was part of her shirt. She had auburn hair, matching eyes that were rimmed by glasses. Her blouse clung to her body in the right places, showing off her curves. Wow. I am glad I didn't bring Argo, or she would never leave this woman in the same room as me for five minutes. "Hello, Tryn. How are you?" She asked. Okay, play it cool. You are taken, so don't get any ideas.

"Fine. You?" I said politely.

"Great. Now, in order for this to work, you need to strip". Okay….. what the fuck?

I blinked repeatedly. "Umm, excuse me?" I said, not believing my ears.

"You need to take your clothes off." She said, her eyebrows wiggling.

"Ummm, why?"

"So I can hook you up to the vitals monitor!" She gestured to a computer on a desk next to a white bed.

"Umm, doesn't that just need to be rigged to my upper body?" I asked, hoping she wasn't as perverted as I thought she was.

"Normally yeah, I was just seeing how you would react to a super sexy nurse telling you to strip. Your girlfriend is a really lucky lady!" She laughed.

"Thank god. I was scared for a moment you were being serious. Besides, I'm the lucky one." Was my reply.

"Not from where I am" she looked me up and down, then purred. I blushed.

"Let's just get this over with." She shrugged.

"Did anyone ever tell you, that you look almost like a female?"

"Yes, everyday of my primary and secondary school years." I said. "Touchy subject."

"Oops, sorry" she finished placing electrodes to my bare chest. "Now, here is an AmuSphere." She handed said rig to me. "Put it on, and fire this baby up!"

"Why do I have a feeling you are not talking about the AmuSphere…"

"Just do it, before I get any ideas." She didn't have to tell me twice.

"Link, start!"

As before, the colors zoomed past me. Again, I was in a black void. A question popped up in front of me.

"Would you like to import data from Alfheim Online?"

I smiled. Oh, fuck yes. After I made the selection, I saw another screen.

"Gun Gale Online does not allow for avatar customization. You will be given an auto generated avatar" I nodded, understanding. Then, more colors and I was standing in the middle of a metropolis, but a dirty one at that. Everything was made of metal, and the smell of smoke hung in the air. Hrmph. Players were walking around, with any manner of guns, ranging from SMGs to assault rifles, to shotguns.

"I would take a look at your avatar, Tryth." I turned around to see everyone's favorite Akihiko Kayaba.

How in the world?

"Oh, by the way, only you can see me. Here is my explanation" he was wearing a plain white lab coat, and was rocking the look of Sosuke Aizen from the anime Bleach. "When you were facing Sugou, and I was just standing there, I was copying my data, and uploading it onto your NerveGear rig. When you linked you data from ALO, because the computer recognized you, it took all the data from the NerveGear and transferred it to the AmuSphere. I basically live in your head. Oh, and don't talk. It will seem that you are talking to yourself, and then none of these people will want to associate with a crazy man. I can read your mind, so that is how we will communicate"

I gritted my teeth. 'So, what's up with my avatar?' I thought.

"Take a look yourself." He gestured to a window, that was very reflective. I strolled over, and gaped. I had the same bright blonde hair I had in real life, the same blue eyes, and close to the same face…. in other words, I was rocking the female/genderless look. Taking Kayaba's advice, I screamed inside my head, not aloud 'OH, COME THE FUCK ON! DOES THE FREAKING VIRTUAL UNIVERSE HAVE SOMETHING AGAINST ME LOOKING LIKE AN ACTUAL GUY?!

Just like IRL, my hair was shoulder length, but I'm this game, it was cut in a bob cut, where the front is slightly longer than the back, and it angles. I sat in a bench, and placed my head in my hands, trying to keep cool.

"So," said Kayaba, "Here is some basic info that should make you very happy: Most of GGO's players are in America, so, you shouldn't run into anyone you know." I stood. I am not letting this game beat me by giving me this damned avatar. I talked to the first person I could find who didn't reek of gun-slinging-cowboy. She was wearing a green jacket that went down to the bottom of her ribs, but covered all of her arms. Underneath she had a white shirt with holes in the sides, showing off her hips. She had on black shorts, that went down only an inch or two, but had a single strap each connected to green pant legs, showing a little of we upper thigh. Black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a white scarf topped off her outfit. Her face was cold. Not just the expression, but her hair was icy blue, with matching eyes. Her expression looked like it would freeze hell over, but she looked like she knew what she was doing.

"Hello, my name is Tryth, and I am a total noob here…. so, yeah, could you help me a little?" Even my voice pitch has been raised by this damn avatar! She looked at me with disdain. She sighed.

"My name is Sinon. Fine, I will help you get started. First, you need gear" I nodded my appreciation, and followed her through the city. After a few minutes of walking, we arrived in a large building with the lane "Guns" on it. Wow, good name. I followed her inside. There were shelves upon shelves of all manners of guns imaginable, from small peashooters, to huge Gatling guns! She turned on me.

"What are your stat types?"

"Oh, Agi/Int. Though I focus more on Cri chance than Cri damage." I showed her a menu. She nodded.

"With that speed, I think an SMG is right up your alley. How much money do you have?"

"Oh, don't worry about money. Anything you find, I can pay off, and probably buy the whole store" she picked up a gun, about as long as the length from my elbow to my middle finger. I was wandering, browsing, then something caught my eyes.

"Hey, Sinon, what is that?" I pointed to a wall with these metal rods with switches on them. She walked over.

"Oh, those are the only melee weapons in the whole name. In game they are called photon swords." I bought one, and a little bot that reminded me of R2D2 from StarWars came up, and ejected the weapon. I grabbed it, using my reflexes. I switched it on, and a green blade made of light came out of the top.

"Holy shit, it's a lightsaber!" I said, gawking. "Hey, I love melee weapons, so I pick this as my primary. What should I use as a secondary?"

She blinked, surprised at my choice. "Your funeral. Well, I already picked out a pistol for you. With that as your primary, your best bet is to use the pistol to wound your enemy, and get close with the photon blade."

"Lightsaber" I corrected. She walked me to the display with the gun she recommends, and I bought it too.

"Now then" I said. "Let's sign up for the BOB"

Her expression told me what she was thinking, 'This is a lunatic'. I nearly busted out laughing.


	34. Chapter 34-Dirty Nurse

**to TheReaPower: I will try and keep up the good work**

 **to ThunderWolf7226: thanks for the input**

 **to Gashadokuro Amanojaku: thanks, your ideas are writing this story as much as mine!**

"You want to join the BOB? Aren't you a noob?" She asked, that 'you are a idiot' expression still clearly written on her face.

"Well, I am very proficient with a sword, IRL and ingame, and, you saw my speed stat! I am pretty sure that if I tried, it would be hard to hit me, even with bullets!" She sighed slightly, the cold hard look reappearing on her features. "I cannot stop you, but I strongly recommend against it."

"And I am glad for the recommendation. Where do I sign up?" She sighed again.

"I was just about to go myself. You can tag along for a little while" and she started off, towards the center of this dirty city. After a few minutes, we arrived in front of a massive building labeled "HUB". Okay, easy enough to find. I followed the blue-haired girl inside. It was a large room, with computer terminals hugging the walls, dividers in between. We stood at adjacent terminals, and it was asking for my personal info, like IRL name, age, address and such. After entering this info, I joined Simon sitting at a chair near the center of the room.

"The first battle is tomorrow, you should go home" said the girl.

"Thanks, meet you here tomorrow?"

"At one pm."

I nodded in agreement and logged out. I woke up IRL, and saw the hot nurse.

"Hey you're up! You were in there for hours!" She said, turning away from the display on the computer reading my vitals I sat up, stiff from laying in one position. I looked at my phone in my pocket. I came here at noon, and it was four thirty. Damn! Was not expecting that!

"Am I allowed to leave?" I asked. She nodded.

"Just be back here same time tomorrow" she said, and started typing into that computer. I texted Argo that I was done, and since our house was only a block away, she met me at the door to the hospital. She was wearing a green t-shirt and blue jeans, and for some reason, looked more beautiful in that simple outfit than she does dressed up for a date. She caught me staring.

"Hey, what you looking at?" She demanded.

"Oh, just the best looking woman ever" I said, and then quickly added, "And smartest" because I know she cares more about her brain than her looks.

She smiled, "Good save" was her response, and we walked home in silence. We had decided that we don't need a car, even though the family fortune was left to me, and if I win the BOB, on top of the reward the government was promising, we would be set for life, and then some for our kids, if we have any. She unlocked the door with the key I had made for her recently, and we entered. I plopped on the sofa, and she brought me a slice of pizza we had stashed somewhere. We ate in silence, as I brooded over what has happened.

"Sooo…" she prompted.

I sighed dramatically. "Well, I got into GGO easily…"

"And…"

"My avatar looks just as girly as I do IRL…"

She started laughing. "Yup, like your ALO one?"

"Worse." This made her laugh harder.

"Well, also Kayaba is not dead. He copied himself, and resides inside my data profile in ALO and now GGO." I said slowly, letting this information sink in.

"What?! That jackass cannot stay dead can he?"

"Nope, but there is more. I met a girl…" I let that hang, gathering my thoughts.

"Speak your next words very carefully." She said, growling.

I laughed uneasily, "Nah, nothing like that, she is just showing me the ropes. Hey, in GGO, I have a freaking lightsaber!"

She looked surprised at this. "Huh?"

"They call them photon blades, but they look exactly like lightsabers! It's the only melee weapon in the whole game though" she nodded.

"And I am signed up for the BOB, which starts tomorrow."

"Be careful, of Death Gun kills you, I will be forced to avenge you, and I don't feel like doing that."

"Lazy ass"

"But I'm your lazy ass!" And she curled up closer. "How about we fool around" she said.

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.

I yawned as I entered the hospital room.

"Hello, sleepy head!" Said the nurse. "Hmm, I wonder why you are tired….." I flipped her off and she giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Just hook me up" I said, laying down, now shirtless.

"Ooh, how about seven at the-" she started, but I interrupted.

"Okay, okay, enough of that" then I had a thought. "Hey, I didn't catch your name".

She answered while hooking the electrodes up to me, the cold metal making me shiver. "Lisa" she said, "Why do you want to know? You want my number too?"

I flipped her off again, and she giggled. I slipped on the AmuSphere.

"Link, start!" The colors whirred past. I spawned inside the room I logged out from, that building labeled 'HUB', near the center. I stood up, getting off the chair, and looked around. Many players were already assembled. I was an hour early for my meeting with Sinon, so I decided to go waste ammo at a gun store, shooting targets. I missed often, but, this was at a range of about a hundred feet, I wouldn't be using my gun until I was at about thirty, but the target didn't get that close.

"I thought I would find you down here" I heard after I emptied the twelve shot clip, hitting five times, a new record. I turned around to see everyone's favorite blue-haired girl.

"Hey, what's up, Sinon?" I asked. She just nodded. I loaded the clip, having had about an hour to master the movements, slipped the gun into my waist holster, and followed her out. She led me back to the HUB, not saying a word. Hmm, how do I get her to open up? Well, I am not here to socialize, I am here to beat a PKer, and I shouldn't stray from my objective. We arrived at the building, now bustling with activity. We squeezed in, me sticking to Sinon's side like glue. She led me to another room, that was emptier, much emptier, than the main room. This one was smaller, but was quiet, and docile, while the main room was loud, and obnoxious. I plopped onto a chair next to Sinon, sighing in exasperation.

"So, how does this work?" I asked her.

"The computer chooses two people randomly to battle in a random map. The winner moves on. After the winners are wielded down to ten, it's a battle royal, free for all" short sweet and to the point.

"So, I get a battle against someone who is probably a total noob to test how this game works?" She nodded.

"The beginning battles won't take too long." There were television screens in the waiting room we were in. They all flickered on, and it showed a man I thought was Akihiko Kayaba, but this man had black eyes, and stood with a confidence Kayaba did not.

"You seriously thought that was me?" I heard my second least favorite person ever say. I glanced to the left to see him standing there in his white lab coat. "I would listen if I were you". And I did.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Gun Gale Online's second annual Bullet of Bullets! This is a tournament style competition in which you shoot your opponents full of lead! If you win the fight, you go further in the competition! The higher you get, the more money you get! Simple as that, but, only the winner of the Battle Royal, and claim the trophy, and the payout, of two hundred million dollars!" This caused an uproar in the room, and everyone cheered at the huge sum. I sighed. Well, that would be a nice addition to the billions in my account, but it wasn't needed.

"Now then, let's choose our first combatants!" He slammed his hand on the wall behind him, and two names appeared.

"Tryth versus Dinogun33!" Wow, great name. I stood, and waited for something to happen. I took one last look at Sinon, and she nodded at me, and that nod said "fuck this noob's asshole so hard, his mother will not even recognize him" I smiled, and nodded back. Let's do this.


	35. Chapter 35-First Battle

**Thanks again for commenting! It really helps!**

I spawned inside a forest, standing on a tree. The weather was damp, humid, and hot. A very uncomfortable mix. Well, time to do this. I looked around. Trees trees and more trees. Hmm, where are we? Well, with all these stupid trees, only high-powered guns will be effective, so I just have to hope he doesn't have a big rifle. I climbed to the very top, and did a quick look. There wasn't anything worth noting, no landmarks, just jungle. I climbed down, and felt safe, my feet on firm ground rather than pliable wood.

"Want my help?" Asked someone behind me. I didn't even turn, knowing it was Kayaba, because if it was this Dinogun33 guy, I would already have more holes in me than swiss cheese. 'Why would I want your help?' I asked in my head, walking through the forage.

"Because, you would win a lot faster if you accepted, and if you do not, then there isn't any guarantee about you coming out victorious." The damned program had a point. 'Fine. What info do you have?' I spun around, silently facing him.

"Well, you know your skills from SAO have transferred over…" this made my eyes go wide. Of course? Why didn't I think of that? I had a killer Stealth Skill in SAO!

'How do I use it in here?' I thought to him.

"Simple. Open your menu, go to the 'Skills' section, and scroll until you find it. When you so, you can 'equip.' It, and then use it just by thinking it". I did as he instructed. I concentrated, and looked at my hand. I wasn't there. 'Let's do this!'

"Good, now, I will be leaving" and he vanished, leaving me agitated. 'He offers help, but that is all he gives?' Them I heard a crunching noise… the sound of a combat boot on twigs. Still invisible, I crept to it. With this skill, I could step on a stick, and he wouldn't hear it. I could probably fire my gun and it would barely register.

"Stop hiding already and come at me!" He yelled. "Make this easy for me! You can't win!" His accent was so obviously American. I sighed. Screw this. I unholstered my Glock 19 Semi-Automatic, and leveled it at the back of his head. He had stopped walking, and I was mere feet from him. At this distance, missing is impossible. I fired…

And at that moment, he bent over, to tie his shoe. As soon as the bullet rocketed over his head, and leapt up, raised the SMG, and opened fire in my general direction, hitting me a few times as I ran away. I jumped into a tree, ignoring the pain. Three bullets hit me, one in the lower back, one in my left arm, and one in the left leg. My leg hurt most, because my arm and back had light armor on them. I placed my hand on my leg, and felt something wet. 'Great, there is blood in this game too'. Trying, and failing, to not cry out, I pulled the bullet from my leg, using two stiff sticks I found. I glanced at my HUD, and saw my health was a little under a third. Wow, armor really makes a difference in this game. Just got to hit him hard, and fast!

I softly left the tree, and a notification appeared in front of me:

[Stealth] Skill has run out, time until reuse: 10:00 minutes

The timer was counting down, and went to my HUD, under my health. I heard a gunshot to the north, and I went that way. I saw him in a clearing, about a hundred feet in diameter. He shouted. "Come and get me!" I smirked.

Stepping out of the tree line, I withdrew my photon blade, turning it on, the green light flickering dangerously. "Fine" I said. He smiled, and opened fire.

I rushed to him, and tried something extremely stupid… I tried to block the bullets with my sword. And it worked. Oh yeah! The shits stopped coming as he emptied the clip. He started backing away, but no one can escape me. I was on top of him before he took his fourth step, and I separated his head from his body. His HP hit zero instantly, and a new screen appeared in front of me, declaring me the victor. Ha, Kayaba! That Stealth Skill didn't help me in the end! I was force-teleported back to where I was before I began the fight. Sinon was sitting where I left her. I smiled at her, and she nodded, serious as ever. I looked at the televisions all over the place. The announcer was speaking, "Wow, and a startling victory by Tryth! We definitely did not think that the photon Blades were worth any time or energy, but this kid has proved otherwise! Next fight!" Again, he slapped the wall behind him.

"TriblasterTwinHead versus….. Sinon!" Those two disappeared as they were teleported, this stage was a run down city. It looked like a zombie apocalypse had gone through, and left no zombies. I found a screen that was going to showcase Sinon the whole time. She was running to the nearest building. She had a massive sniper rifle on her back, being almost as long as she was tall. Inside, her eyes darted around. She climbed the stairs quickly, going to high ground. She kept climbing, came to the last door, opened it, and went through it to the roof. Once there, she saw that the building next to her was taller. She started running towards it. 'Oh, gods. Don't even try it' I thought. She jumped… in mid air, she grabbed a pistol looking thing from her belt, pointed almost straight up, and fired. A rope attached to a grappling hook shot upwards, and hooked on the ledge of the roof of the next building. It stopped her descent violently, but she held on. She climbed the rope upwards. Once on the top, she lay down, breathing heavily. Then, wasting no time, walked to the edge, and took her rifle off her back. Sinon loaded a clip, lay down, and peered through the scope. We saw from her point of view, through her eyes. We saw TriblasterTwinHead running from one building to another. This is almost too easy. She pointed the rifle just ahead of him, and pulled the trigger. A deafening bang resonated throughout the room. The bullet slammed into his leg, as he tried to jump out of the way. It tore through his leg, and taking the whole appendage off. She scowled, and put another bullet rocketing towards the prone figure, into the head, and making it explode. She was then declared winner, and teleported back to her seat.

"And that was Sinon everybody! She competed in last years' BOB, but didn't make it to the Battle Royal! Her primary weapon is the PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II, nicknamed Hecate. It is the gun with the highest base damage in the game, and there is only one of them in the whole game" this caused a lot of people to stare at her, but she gave them a glare that turned their attention back to the television screen, their metaphorical tails between their legs.

That's a girl! We agreed to meet there the next day, at one pm, and logged out.

"Oh, you are awake! Good!" Said the nurse, as I sat up. I started taking the electrodes off my chest.

"Hey,what time is it?" I asked. It felt like only a few hours.

"Seven pm" was the response.

"What?!" Damn! That took so long! How did time fly by so fast? I put my shirt back on, and ran out, shouting "Sorry, thanks Lisa!" I dashed all the way home. I opened the door, and stumbled in. "Argo, I'm sorry!" I shouted throughout the house. She came down the stairs, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I closed, and locked, the door. Facing my love, I felt embarrassed. We both tried to speak at the same time.

"You fist" I said.

"Nah, you" was her response. She walked into the kitchen, and I followed.

"Where to begin. Well, the tournament started, and I was picked first. I had to fight inside a jungle. I tracked my opponent easily enough, considering he made more noise than an elephant. He shot me repeatedly, and I hid. I guess that's where the hours went to. I spent a few digging a bullet out of my leg, so I know that was where a lot of the time went to-" she cut me off here.

"Dude. I know you were busy. I understand what happened, and why. You do not need to explain yourself to me, I love you, so, you don't owe me an explanation."

I sat, stunned. "Two things. First, that is the first time you have called me 'dude', second, I love you, so I must try and not tarnish the way you think of me!"

"Hm, well, it is good to hear that we still share our feelings…. dude"


	36. Chapter 36-The Masked Man, Sterben

**Thanks for all the support!**

 **To Thunderwolf7226: I will try and keep up the good work**

 **to everyone else reading: if you like what you read, post a review, so I know that you like it, if you hate this, tell me, and I will try and do better!**

"Link start!"

I spawned back in the chair I was sitting in when I logged out. Sinon was sitting in the chair next to me.

"You are late" was her comment.

"By two minutes. Sorry" I said defensively. She did not continue the conversation. The room filled up, as people came in, hoping to get away from the fanatics in the main room. The television came on, with that announcer guy. But it wasn't his voice that spoke.

"The game is rigged against you" said Kayaba beside me. "Someone knows who you are, and is going to act on that knowledge." This startled me. 'What do you mean?' He smiled. "What could I mean?" 'Good point'.

The announcer spoke. "Hello, BOB contestants. Welcome to day two of the Bullet Of Bullets! Yesterday, we finally got through all of the first round, by having four battles at a time. Today is round two!" People cheered quietly. "Now then, to find our first two fighters!" He slapped the wall behind him, and said "Arcdestroyer99 versus….. Sinon! Wow, first round! Let's do this!" Sinon teleported out. Hmm. She will do fine.

I walked towards a bar in the center in the room, and ordered some soda. Even online, people under twenty one cannot have alcohol. The bartender was an npc, but still knew the law… and that annoyed me.

I heard a wheezing sound, and then the hiss of pneumatics. "Are you the real deal?". I turned slowly. I saw a tall man. He had a mask on, that looked like a robots' head. He had on a tattered green-gray cloak. The exposed part of his arms were coated in mechanical parts, legs too. "Are you the real deal?" He repeated. The voice was slightly robotic, but deep and bass.

I blinked in surprise. "Umm, what do you mean?"

He wheezed. "Are you THE Tryth?". More pneumatic hisses. "Are you the real deal?"

"Okay buddy, you are really starting to annoy me" I said, feeling frightened.

He held up his hand, and took off some of the metal I saw a black coffin…. with a face on it….. that was smiling….. with an open mouth. My eyes opened in surprise...and then fear. It was the Laughing Coffin tattoo.

"Are you the real deal?" He asked again. My eyes strayed towards his face, wide in fright.

"What do you want?" I demanded, putting on a mask of bravery, although my legs felt like jelly. "Why are you here?"

Kayaba stood beside me. "Be careful. We don't know what he is capable of. His screen name is Sterben. Address him as this." I was about to speak when Sterben beat me to it.

"Well, it looks like Kayaba has risen from the dead." Sterben opened his menu. "Although I know you died, how could you stand before me now? Unless….. yes that must be it." The mechanical face turned to me. "You are the real deal. I will love killing you in the Battle Royal" he walked away, wheezing.

'He could see you"' I thought.

"Yes, what a predicament." Was Kayaba's reply. "I will find a way to combat this new development." He disappeared. Sinon spawned next to me a few minutes later, the same bland expression as always.

"How'd you do?" I asked her, and waved the bartender down.

"I won" was her simple reply. Well, if I cannot get her to open up, I guess it isn't my fault.

"That it?" I asked. "Not going to gloat about how you probably owned his ass?"

She shook her head. Hrmph, fine.

"What do you want? I will pay" I said to her. Her eyebrows curled slightly.

"Nothing, I am fine."

"Yo, bartender, get a couple of orange sodas over here, please!" He came up, handed me a pair of foot tall glasses with the fizzing drink. I saw my money deduct a little, but I don't care. I handed her one. She scowled and took it.

"Waste of your time and money" she said. I smiled.

"Nope, not a waste. You are a friend, and I am being friendly."

"Waste." Was her reply, and I dropped it. I stared off into space. What did that guy want? Why was he wearing the LC tattoo? Well, he survived SAO, that much I can say is obvious. I am going to have to talk to Argo tonight.

A few hours of standing and brooding, I heard something.

"And now, the final battle of the day! Tryth versus Deadshot!"

'Deadshot? What the hell? That is so close to "Death Gun"...'

"Deadshot is not Death Gun." Kayaba said beside me. "But be careful. Deadshot is a dual pistol user, high speed, going to be hard to run down."

'Then you obviously have not raced me before.' Was my mental reply. I was teleported.

I was in the same map as before a jungle. 'Wow, can't I even get another map?' Immediately after the fight started, signaled by a gunshot sound, I leaped into a tree, and scanned the surrounding area. It was the exact same map. Wow. I decided to use a different tactic than before, last time, I waited for him to come to me, now I will catalyze everything.i jumped from tree to tree, Stealth on, so I was invisible and made no sound. Pistol in left hand, powered-off photon blade in the other, I set out, using my legs to speed through the jungle map. I was running when a bullet zipped in front of me. I dropped to the ground, dodging any other shots, but landing hard and skidding. A few more bullets accompanied the first, firing over me.

"Where are you, Tryth? I want to win quickly, so please make this easy for me" I heard. I smiled. 'Ok, fine'

"Don't be rash" said Kayaba, beside me once again.

'I plan on being rash' I jumped up, and looked in his direction. He was a twentyish year old, and in each hand, held a Desert Eagle. 'This guns are so overrated' is raised my own, and opened fire, unleashing the twelve shot clip in quick succession. A few hit at the thirty foot range, and while firing, I ran at him. He fired at me, and I smiled. 'Time to put those reaction times to good use' I saw red lines in the air. 'Those must be the projected trajectory!' I blocked all of the bullets he shot at me easily enough. Almost on top of my target, I ran faster. He turned tail and dashed. 'Wow, he is nowhere near as fast as I thought he would be. I overtook him quickly, slicing twice across his back, killing him. The victory screen appeared in front of me.

"Hm, you are faster than I originally thought. Good job" said Kayaba.

'Thanks.' I respawned in my chair, in front of a screen. I sighed. 'This is a little fun, maybe I will come back occasionally.' I checked my HUD. 10:26. Oh shit.

"Hey Sinon!" I called to the girl across the room

She nodded, so I said my message, "I have to go, same time same place tomorrow!" And I logged out. Ripping off the electrodes, and apologizing to my nurse, and slipped my shirt on, and dashed out of the room, down the stairs, out the door, and down the street. 'I hope she is not pissed at me' I made it to the door in record time. Swinging it open, I shouted, "I am so sorry! I was the last battle!" I heard snickering from the kitchen. I closed the door, and walked over. Argo was standing there, making a sandwich.

"Baka! I told you you don't have to explain yourself!" I stared at my feet, in embarrassment.

"But I told you I do have to-" I was interrupted by a newly made sandwich being shoved into my mouth. Startled, I looked up. She was standing there with a mix of emotions on her face, the most prominent being annoyance, and amusement.

"Thowwy" I said around the sandwich.

"Eat. Don't talk. We have all night for that." I did as she commanded, famished.


	37. Chapter 37-Battle Royal

**to Therealpower: I wanted Tryth to seem intelligent, and someone else told me to minimize contractions and slang, sorry, I will work on it.**

The one versus one duals were easy enough. My opponents were little more than gun slinging American cowboys, who thought they were actually good at fighting. All I had to do was use Stealth until I got close, and then cut their head off. I told no one about Sterben, and him seeing Kayaba. It still scared me, and I had no idea why. 'Today is the Battle Royal' I thought. 'Ten way battle to the death'. This is going to be fun. I walked into the hospital room, lay on the bed without co planning about taking my shirt off, got hooked up, and entered GGO.

"Link start!"

I sat in the exact same chairs before, preparing mentally for the task at hand. My mind kept wandering back to Sterben, and I could not think properly. 'Ugh' I thought. 'Oh well, I am not good at forming plans, I am good at winging things' I noticed Sinon beside me, fiddling with her menu. As I was thinking, a pair of tough looking men walked up.

"Hey, beautiful, what's up?" One of the, said. I gave him a bored expression.

"How about you come with me?" He continued. I was about to speak, but Sinon beat me to it.

"Leave her alone" wow, even Sinon thought I was a girl. I hate this avatar.

"Shut it, you ain't my boss!" He said in his thick cowboy accent. I stood.

"Shut the fuck up, you gun slinging, mother fucking piece of shit excuse for a human" all three stared at me in surprise. "I am not going with you. Get out of my face" they grumbled and glared, but walked away.

"You have guts, girl" she whispered. I groaned internally.

"Sinon, can we talk in private?" I asked her, serious all of a sudden. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she nodded, and lead the way to a closed room. The inside was empty.

"Sinon, please don't be mad." I opened my menu, and flipped it around for her to look.

"Why should I be mad? Okay, you have a lot of Agility and Intelligence, and you have a super high level…"

"Look at my profile." I hung my head.

I am guessing she did, because she gasped. I lifted my head a fraction, and looked at her eyes. They only a moment ago had joy, and friendship. I had gotten her to actually speak to me.

"I can't fool someone I count as a friend, that is against my beliefs." I said, shame making my voice crack. "I am sorry."

"I am a friend?" She asked. I nodded, head still down.

"Please don't be mad" I said.

"You were honest." She said, finality in her voice. She sounded indecisive, but final. "And those people were jerks…." she said. "I cannot be mad at you. But do not think I will show you mercy in the Battle Royal" she walked out.

'Oh thank whatever! At least she didn't get angry' I thought.

"You handled that well" I turned to see Kayaba. "You did good, she will most likely stay your friend."

I nodded. "At least I didn't screw that up" he nodded.

"That Battle Royal is about to start, I would go out there." I ran out, not wanting to miss the rules. I made it just in time.

"Now, it is time! The Battle Royal!" Shouted the man on the screens. A map appeared behind him. "You will fight within this abandoned city, and the surrounding area. To the north, mountains, south, and desert. East, jungle, west, forest. You can fight anywhere within this area. Every fifteen minutes, a satellite will pass overhead, and will give you the locations of all other players, but only for a minute. Objective: be the last one standing! Good luck!" We were force teleported.

I spawned back in that forest. 'Ahh, that is where those maps were from'. I looked up, and saw a countdown in big black numbers, it was at ten, and going down. 'Sinon will go for the city, for its high grounds. I opened my menu, and under my objective, I saw all of their names:

Sinon

Tryth

Sterben

Angelgun

Donshoto

TheExorcist

KurosakiIchigo (wow, just why?)

SunDeath

Archerclassyeahboi!

Suckthis.

'Wow, those are some pretty creative names.' I thought. 'Let's do this!'

Sinon spawned. She was in the north, almost at the city's edge. 'Good' she thought. 'let's do this'. The timer ran out, and she dashed into the city, not caring about stealth. She quickly found the tallest building, and started heading up the stairs inside. 'Good this I upped my agi stat, or this might take forever' at the top, she walked around, and chose a room at random. She opened the door…

She saw someone standing there, waiting for her. It was 'Archerclassyeahboi!' 'Oh shit'

"I have been waiting for you!" He said, and was raising his SMG. 'Shit' she thought again, and dropped onto her stomach. As she was falling, she drew her own SMG, and rolled mid air, onto her back. She rolled across the floor, bullets punching holes right behind her. She stopped when the shots stopped, and the gun clicked, signaling it was out. She smiled. Standing, she raised her SMG. 'Die' she unloaded her clip. Archerclassyeahboi exploded into blue polygons. 'Overkill, but, who cares? It's not my Hecate, so it doesn't matter'. She sat, and took only a moment to collect her breath. Then standing, she walked to a window. This room was a corner room on the building, so there were two windows. She moved a desk to the center of the room, and laid down upon it. 'Now, they can't see me, but I can see them!' Then she got an idea. Everyone is allowed to have a primary, a secondary, and a tertiary. Primaries are usually rifles, and LMGs. Secondaries are pistols and SMGs, and tertiaries are grenades, mines, and such. Some people dual wielded pistols, and both pistols only took up their primary slot, allowing another weapon, but not many. For her tertiary, she had motion activated cameras. This allowed her to put a camera wherever she wants, and if anyone moves in front of the lense, a screen will appear in front of one of her eyes, showing what happened. These came in handy for a sniper, for they do not pay attention to their surroundings when looking for prey.

She set these motion cameras in all of the staircases, at the bottom, so if they were triggered, she would have a heads up.

Smiling, she went back to the room she had chosen. After setting her rifle on a bi-pod, she lay on the desk, and waited. 'I will win. I am strong. I am Sinon.' She had participated in the previous years' BOB. She lost in the first round, but then she had a bolt action Smith and Wesson. Now she has a semi automatic Hecate, that is an almost guaranteed kill in one shot, and where above the waist.

She waited.

After a few minutes, her watch beeped. She sat up, and tapped it. A map of the arena appeared, with ten dots. Most were in the mountains. 'Let that kill each other.' One was dangerously close to her. But if he decides to get within her view, he will die. She lay back down after looking a little longer, and resumed waiting.

Her earpiece beeped. A screen appeared showing a feminine figure without a large gun running up the stairs. She sighed. 'So, Tryth hunted me down? Okay, I will greet him'. She got up, walked into the hallway. She stood about one hundred feet from the staircase Tryth will be coming out. 'I said no mercy'. She thought. "Get ready to die" she said allowed, but quietly.

"Okay, I a, ready" she heard behind her. She whipped around and saw him there. 'Damn! I forgot he had a Stealth Skill!'


	38. Chapter 38-Past Revealed

**thanks to everyone who is reviewing! I hope you like the twist I have added!**

The blue haired girl in front of me was about to turn around, but I fired a shot over her shoulder. Before starting the Battle Royal, I had purchased a silencer for my pistol, so all it did was make a faint 'pew' sound, and the bullet nearly grazed her face. She stopped moving. "Just kill me" she said, "One headshot is all you need". I thought about it. 'Well, I shouldn't trust her, but, then again, what choice do I have?'. I lowered my gun.

"Nope. I don't want to" as soon as my weapon was in my hip-holster, she was up, facing me, and holding her Hecate, against my chest. "Do it, I would understand, especially since I let you believe that I was a female. I deserve it after what I have done". A thought flashed through Sinon's head, 'he isn't talking about the misdirection… what does he mean? Ugh! I can't kill him now!' She lowered her gun, and I relaxed. 'I actually thought she would shoot me!'. She went into a room, and I followed. 'This must be where she has decided to snipe from', I thought, seeing her get atop the desk, and laying there, invisible to anyone outside. I sat down against a wall silently, as to not disturb her concentration.

"Why are you here?" She asked suddenly. I blinked repeatedly in surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked, timidly.

"Why did you single me out."was her reply. I gathered my thoughts.

"For starters, you were the only name I recognized on the list…. except for someone I really don't want to look at again, or be within a thousand miles of. Also, I know that I cannot win with the best sniper against me" she grunted, warning me about the flattery, "You know I am right! Besides, I enjoy your company, and am hoping that when we get out of this tournament, we can meet IRL." She grunted again, but this time to silence me. I stood, and after activating my Stealth Skill, peeked out the window. I saw a person dashing from cover to cover, the figure had a large assault rifle on her back, and light armor. It's name was Angelgun.

"On it" I said, and jumped out the tenth story window. I could swear I heard Sinon cursing at me as I free-fell. I hit the ground, with a slight thump. The figure, Angelgun, stopped at the noise, and faced my general direction. 'Damn! Where Angelgun is, Sinon cannot get a clear shot!'

"Maybe you should not fight her…" said Kayaba, suddenly beside me.

'Why is that?' I asked in my mind.

"Just a hunch" was the reply I got. 'Hrmph. You are a computer program, you don't get hunches'. He smiled, and disappeared. But it nagged at me…. when has Kayaba ever been wrong? Computer, or human form? I drew my pistol, facing Angelgun. I was about to put a bullet in the head of the figure when it spoke.

"Put a bullet in each of my knees, then run into this alley". The voice was feminine, and strangely familiar. 'I know her from somewhere…' I thought, but she spoke again, still quietly, but with more urgency. "Quickly! Before your partener gets suspicious!" I groaned inwardly, 'she knows about Sinon. Well, can't hurt to do what she says can it?'

"Fine," I whispered, "But first, drop your rifle and secondary where you are" she did as I said, and I leveled my gun at her knees. I fired twice, shattering each knee cap. She screamed in pain, and I ran into the alley. Once we were out of Sinon's sight, I felt oddly exposed, but I didn't show it. "Okay, I did as you asked. Who the hell are you?" The breeze cooled the stress-sweat forming on my forehead.

She took out a medkit, opened it, and her health maxed out. Once her knees were mended, she lept at me…. and wrapped me in a hug. Startled, I tried to get out of it.

"Tryth, it's me, Angelica…. didn't the screen name tip you off?" As soon as she said her name I stopped resisting, for two reasons, first, she stunned me with who she was, second, I was no where near her Str stat.

"Angelica?" She pulled away at my word, and nodded. "Prove it" I said, squinting my eyes.

"How?" She asked.

"Tell me something only Angelica would know!" I said simply.

She seemed to think for a moment…. "Let's see, in the SAO Death Game, I was your best friend, you fell in love with Argo, although all the girls you came in contact with fell in love with you, I had a duel wielding skill, but died against Kayaba, and then in ALO, you came and saved me from Oberon The Fairy King, also, Argo told me about your neko jokes. I have to admit, those were pretty funny". I stood dumbfounded, and then I attacked her with a hug.

"It is you! Long time no see!" I pulled away. "Come on, lets go" I started to walk out of the alley. She followed.

Sinon saw the pair common out of the alley, talking like school chums. 'Traitor! I should never have trusted him! He is just like the rest of the boys!' And in a blind rage, fired three shots. The first hit Angelshot in the shoulder, reducing her health to under half instantly. The other two were blocked by Tryth's photon blade. He helped her up, and into the building before she could hit them, not for lack of trying. She stood, and drew her SMG for the closer quarters combat. 'I will kill him!' She thought. She walked out of the room, turned a corner, and saw Angelgun against a wall, sitting there, unarmed. Sinon raised her SMG. "Die!" She yelled, but before she pulled the trigger, her vision blacked out.

She woke up. The first thing she noticed was that she was tied up. The second was that she was unarmed. She opened her eyes. She was in her camp out room, her weapons layed in front of her. Tryth was standing over her, green photon blade turned on.

"Sinon, I am going to cut your bonds. Please don't attack" he sliced, and the rope slackened. Immediately, she grabbed her Hecate, and pointed it at him, barrel against his chest. She felt another barrel against her head.

"Drop it" she heard a feminine voice snarl. "Or I might have to turn that pretty blue hair of yours purple."

I saw the two girls at a stalemate. Sinon not wanting to drop her gun, because then she has no bargaining chip, and same for Angelica.

"Why should I?" Asked Sinon.

I spoke before Angelica. "You have a right to be pissed, but let me explain. This here, is Angelica. She is a….. very old friend. Angelica, this is Sinon, the only reason I know anything about this game." Slowly, I raised my hands and gripped both girl's gun barrels, and lowered them simultaneously. They let me.

"What do you mean by… "old friend""? Asked Sinon, still testy.

I sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this, but here goes something" I licked my lips nervously, "I am a survivor from the Sword Art Online incident." I said. Her eyes widened.

Angelica decided to expound on what I said. "Not just survivor, he was the one who got everybody out. He was the fastest, and and best sword user, in the game! That is why he can knock bullets right out of the air!" Sinon's eyes looked like saucepans.

"And why should I believe you?" She asked.

"Because you are my friend. And I do not lie to friends." I said simply. I turned to Angelica, "How did you know that I was in GGO?" I asked. She giggled.

After taking off her hood, and letting her blonde hair drape down her back, she answered. "You think that just because you and I stopped talking, that Argo and I have? We have each other's phone numbers." I groaned allowed.

"Oh shit. Don't tell her that we hugged! She gets jealous easily!" I said urgently.

"Blackmail!" She said.

"I hate your ass" I said.

"Awww, that isn't nice Tryth!" She said, making doe eyes. Fuck, it is hard to be mad at those eyes.

"Ugh. Just don't tell her." She nodded.

"By the way, Sinon," I said, facing my new friend, "Those gunshots you let off got us some unwanted company. Mind giving us cover fire? While we are the ones in actual danger?" She nodded, and resumed her position on the desk.

"Let's lock and load!" Said Angelica.

"Okay, that is too much! First I have to put up with damned Americans playing cowboy, and now you?!" She giggled at my discomfort as we walked down the stairs quickly, to face the two people I saw earlier.


	39. Chapter 39-Death Shot

**sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been studying for school and whatnot.**

 **thanks for the support!**

The player known as Sterben pulled the keyboard of his personal computer close to him. He pressed a button on the hard drive, and the screen lit up. While it was booting, he thought about what happened. 'Kayaba isn't dead, not yet anyways… well, we know his human body is dead, so that means that thing I saw has to be a program of some sort…' the MicroSoft logo appeared, signaling the end of the booting. After logging in, the desktop loaded. He took a 128 gigabyte flash drive out of his pocket, and plugged it into the computer. After running a virus scan, he accessed the drive. Double clicking a few times, he opened an application. It was a code writing software. Once inside, he opened a file labeled " ". This was a program that, when run, it acted as an argumentation to a gun he had, and, if an enemy was killed within a certain time after being shot, they were deleted. Not just dead IRL, but their whole avatar was deleted. It is as though they are erased from the game. The only reason Sterben did not use this yet, was because it would complete the 'death' scenario, and would probably have gotten the BOB canceled until he was caught, but the way it is now, it just looks like computer or network failure. Sterben grinned sadisticly as he typed. 'First Kayaba, then Tryth'.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, we formed a plan. I would try and take them out with Stealth, but if I am found, then Sinon and Angelica would rain holy hell upon them, but with me trying first, hopefully, we do not attract any unwanted attention. I drew my Glock. I stepped out there, completely invisible. I saw them in an alley, but it was one that Sinon didn't have any shot into. I studied my opponents. One was a wall of a man, seven feet tall, with a Gatling chain gun. He scared me a little, but the small cloaked figure scared me more. 'Damn, if this goes south, that Gatling gun will shred through us, making us Swiss cheese. I hope I can take them out easily.' Just as I was raising my Glock to point at the man-giant's head, the little figure tapped on his shoulder, and pointed right at me. 'Fuck'. He stood, a wild grin on his face.

"Well well well! I 'ave been a-waitin' for ya! Eat lead ya motha fucka!" He pulled the trigger and the barrels started spinning. 'Oh fuck, I have about a second before bullets rain down upon my worse than Argo can'. I was about to turn tail and run, but the little figure produced a Ruger LC380 .380 ACP. It was a powerful pistol, yet small, with a low recoil.

"I am tired of your fake cowboy accent. It is really grating on my nerves." The man let go of the trigger, and turned towards her, fear in his eyes. The little person raised the gun level with his head, and fired three times, guaranteed kill. Blood shot out of his head, and he exploded into blue pixels. I pointed my Glock at the killer.

"Hey, lower the damn gun!" It said. The figure took the hood off, to let auburn hair drape down. What told me her identity was the three lines on either side of her mouth…. like whiskers…

"Argo?! What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, lowering my gun.

"Helping you, Baka! Now, call of your sniper!" I was about to ask how she knew about Sinon, but then I decided against it, knowing she is Argo The Rat. I deactivated my Stealth, and stepped what're Sinon could see me. I gave her the thumbs up, and then Argo stepped out of the alley. She holstered the small Ruger.

Angelica stepped into the open, assault rifle pointed right at Argo.

"Angelica! Don't!" I said. "It's Argo!" She looked confused, so I pointed at the telltale whiskers.

"Argo!" She exclaimed, and ran to her old friend. After getting tackle hugged, Argo stood.

"Gods, I didn't know you would be this surprised." She said, and we walked up the stairs. We reached the final floor, and Sinon was waiting.

"Another fan-girl?" She asked.

I chuckled. "Sort of. To be honest, The Fan-Girl. Sinon, this is my girlfriend, Argo. Argo, this is Sinon, the only reason I am still in this tournament." They stared at each other. I felt like there was some sort of silent conversation going on, and the tension was thick. I walked over to the window, not wanting to interrupt, because I was sure that would I act the wrath of both girls. Staring out, I saw something odd. Sunlight was glinting from a window a ways down the road… I realized it was a scope…. pointed at me. I was about to shout a warning, when I saw a flash. Quickly, without thinking, I drew my saber, and sliced the shot out of the air.

"We have a shooter!" I shouted over my shoulder at my comrades. "I am going to jump out! Angelica, throw something after me, Sinon, load a hollow point exploding bullet, shoot whatever she throws!" They both nodded.

"What the hell?" Said Argo. "You are going to let her shoot you? Someone you just met?"

"Well, yeah" and I jumped. I felt an explosion behind me, and I rocketed towards the building with the shooter, propelled by the flash, and a huge pain in my side. 'Well, I am hit. Fuck this' I leaned forward, passing right through a window. I slammed into a wall with a groan, the force of the slam enough to lower my health by a third. 'That hurt'. I stood, and caught a fleeting glimpse of something running down some stairs a few feet over. I was in persuite of the sniper. Even though it felt like every bone in my body was broken, I caught up to him quickly. He was on the second floor, the rest of the staircase blocked, when I tackled him. We untangled, and he drew his pistol, and me my saber. The green light was dazzling in the low light. My adversary and I circled each other, getting a feel for how the other moved. Abruptly, he raised his pistol, and let out nine shots in rapid succession. I blocked eight, but one clipped my arm. I dropped to a knee form pain, and he ran to the staircase we exited from, going up.

'What the hell?' I thought. 'It feels like I am dissolving!' I stood, looking down to make sure my legs still existed. 'That hurt more than the explosion Sinon caused, or being slammed into a wall'. I did not have time to ponder the predicament though, as I followed my shooter. 'Why the hell is he going up?' I raced up the stairs. Winded, I reached the top. Outside, it was night, but we could still see. The figure was facing me, sniper raised. Too late, I tried dodging. He pulled the trigger, and another bullet bit into my body, hurting, killing. The force of the large caliber shot slammed me against the wall behind me, and blood shot from my mouth. I slumped against the wall, feeling weak. 'Goddamn! I cannot even speak!' While trying, I coughed up more blood. I raised my Glock, and pointed it at the figure. 'Why do I feel so weak?' He walked over before I pulled the trigger, and slapped it out of my hand.

"You are the real deal, but not real enough." He raised a pistol, and made a cross over his body, touching the barrel first to his head, then stomach, the each shoulder.

"I am Death Gun" he placed the barrel against my head. I knew I was about to die, I could feel it, but then logic took over. 'How can he actually kill me? The AmuSphere is completely safe, it is impossible to kill with it!' Then it hit me. 'He does not work alone' he pulled the trigger…. but something interrupted it, in the form of a fifty caliber bullet hole in his shoulder. His shot hit two inches from my ear. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The door next to me flew open, Angelica and Argo passing through. Argo faced me, and pulled out a medkit, opened game it, and my HP started to restore.

Angelica faced Death Gun, and leveled her rifle, and blew him off his feet.

"What would you do without us?" She asked, turning towards me. She had a cocky smile, and rested her gun on her shoulder.

"look out!" I screamed. Death Gun had raised his pistol, and had shot her in the head at point blank range. She fell, HP not quite at zero. He then shot Argo, still on the ground. She fell, pain keeping her from speaking. He stood, and faced me.

"Death Gun does not loose." He said. Raising his pistol, I flinched.

"No!" Shouted Kayaba, getting in the way, the bullet hitting him. He fell next to me.

"What the hell?" I spat, HP still rising, only at halfway.

"Kayaba. Now you shall finally die" said Death Gun. He raised his gun, and shot Kayaba in the head, and he exploded in blue pixels, just like a player.

'Kayaba shall finally die? How can he die? He is a program!' Then it hit me. The only way to fight a program is with a program. A deletion program.

Kayaba is gone.

 **I am ready for the hate-mail!**


	40. Chapter 40-Down South

**Thanks to all who reviewed, I greatly appreciate it!**

 **to Gashadokuro Amanojaku: Thanks for the ideas, you are probably writing this story as much as me!**

Sterben has been waiting for this moment for a long time. The day he can finally beat the legendary Shadow Reaper. In Sword Art Online, Laughing Coffin had managed to capture Tryth, but he escaped, killing a lot of their men in the process. He will atone for his sins! He cannot be permitted to live! 'I am Death Gun!' Sterben raised his pistol, ready to pull the trigger. "Now, you shall die". Right before he fired, though, he head a voice.

"Hey, dumbass! Next time, make sure we are dead before you diss us!"

I turned my head and saw Angelica, her Barret C-67 rifle on her hand. She opened fire. Sterben looked like a rag doll, being shot so many times. She emptied the thirty bullet clip into him, and he fell off the roof. Sinon burst through the door.

"What did I miss?" She asked, seeing me on the ground, and Angelica standing there, holding her gun, panting heavily. I tried to stand, health almost full, and walked over to the ledge. I looked down…. Sterben was nowhere to be seen. 'If he was dead shouldn't there be a notice floating in the air right where he died?' I knew he was still out there.

"Damnit!" I shouted, stomping my foot. "Why in the hell can't we ever get a break?" I turned to see my friends standing there, looking puzzled. Argo had finally stood, and walked over, and peered over the ledge.

"Shit" she whispered.

"What?" Asked Angelica, Sinon's face mimicking the question.

"He isn't dead" said Argo. "He is still out there"

Angelica swore more than the Americans. "He cannot have gone far! Let's split up, and search!" I shook my head.

"No, I doubt any one of us can take him down." I said. Sinon nodded.

"I should have stayed at the other building, and shot him from there" she said, head hung. I walked over, and hugged my new friend.

"You came over to try and do what you can. Don't you dare blame yourself! Besides, I am still breathing, aren't I?" She nodded. Then I realized, not only was Argo still standing there, but the other girl who confessed her feelings for me was also staring, a withering look on each of their faces. 'I a, going to get hell from Argo later, but, screw that, I am comforting a friend'. After a moment, I let go of her.

"That totally was not awkward." Stated Angelica.

"Exactly" said Argo, glaring at me. I grinned. Then we walked back inside. Back in the room we chose as our HQ, we started getting ready to leave.

"We cannot stay here, we have to move." Explained Argo, as we took inventory, and stocked our guns and magazines for the guns. "We will go south, into the desert. There, we will settle down, and wait for someone to get within Sinon's shooting range, and she will pick them off." We set off. Walking down the street, all of us beeped. We all opened our menus, and saw the map. There were the four of us clustered on the street, and two up north.

"So, there are six of us?" I asked.

"No, not necessarily" said Sinon. "If you are in a cave, or the water, then you do not show up on the map" I nodded. Then paled. There was a stream behind me. I turned. 'He could be in there.' I thought. 'Gods I wish Kayaba was here to guide me'. I turned back, and walked past my friends stiffly. They followed without a word. We walked in silence, not speaking. Knowing Sinon would be focused on our surroundings, I let my mind wander.

'Kayaba is gone. I have to make due without him.' I thought resolutely. 'This is going to be hard. Well, I am good at this, the pressure, and such.' I thought about my friends, about how much I owe them. Little did I know that no one was paying attention. It was too late when I heard the clicks of a rifle being all looked up, and saw someone with an AK47. 'That is the most useless gun ever' was my first though. My second was, 'Oh shit'. I drew my saber, and stepped forward, my left hand behind me to tell my comrades from advancing. He was another gun slinging American. 'Of course, who else would use such a loud gun with such a large recoil?'

"Put dat sword down, now!" He said, accent very thick. "Or I'll shoot ya full o' holes!"

"Sorry" I said, speaking slowly, but enunciating. "But I cannot understand you with that stupid voice. Please drop it. I am fine with speaking English, but I would like if you would not sound like an uneducated brat with an assault rifle." He scowled.

"Ya shouln' be speakin' dat way to some one wid a gun to ya!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you" I dropped onto the ground, and he looked puzzled, but then surprised. Angelica always knows what I was thinking, and had her Barret out, and ready to fire.

"Eat lead, you filthy American!" She fired first, hitting him in the upper chest. Three bullets later, he exploded into blue lights. I stood, happy with the outcome.

"Five" I said aloud. "Or six if someone wasn't on the map earlier." They nodded.

"So, we either wait, or go to them!" Said Argo, punching her open hand. I smiled at her enthusiasm. We hunkered down in a small cave that looked like a regular sand dune until you were right in front of it. Inside, it was dark, and we waited for our virtual eyes to adjust. We were all tense as we sat there, waiting for something, anything to happen. The cave was not large, but we all had room to lay down. It was dark in there, but that meant it would be harder for others to see us.

"Tryth, you are hiding something" said Angelica. "Tell us!".

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ok, Tryth" she came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We are the three women in your life who you are unable to hide anything from, well, Argo And I are the two, I don't know about Sinon…" she glanced at the sniper who was intent on staring through her scope. "Just tell us!" I sighed, resigned.

"Okay, you two know that Kayaba didn't die Suguo, right?" Their expressions told me I was wrong. But I continued. "He had copied himself, knowing he would lose, and put that copy in the memory of my NerveGear. Which when I accessed my account from the AmuSphere, he uploaded himself from my NerveGear to the AmuSphere. Then, he helped he get the hang of this game. The player I am sure is Death Gun, has written a program the after he shot Kayaba, Kayaba was deleted. Forever." They looked stunned by this.

Angelica slapped me, "And why have you not told us this?" She backed away a little, letting this sink in, "So, now our archenemy is finally dead, we can live in peace?"

"Well, he was very helpful. He was the only reason I knew you were in ALO, and he was the only reason I could save you. That knight that got decimated by Sugou, he was Kayaba." Her eyes opened wide in surprise.

"And why did you not tell me before?!"

"Hey, stop yelling at him!" Commanded Argo, "He didn't want any of us to worry, so don't you dare give him shit for it!" I walked over to the entrance to the cave, letting the other girls bicker.

"So, Sinon, anything interesting?" I asked quietly.

"No" she said simply. Her icy blue hair framing her face as she stared unblinkingly into the scope.

We beeped. I opened the menu, and expanded it. There was no dots on the map. Not even ours.

"So, that trick about hiding under something works!" I said.

"And they know that trick. We are not alone here" said Sinon, "Be on guard". I closed the map, and stared out the cave, looking north. 'Something is out there.' I thought. 'We will be ready' I hoped.

What surprised me next was a grenade flying inside. 'Oh fuck'.

 **Dun dun duuuuuunnnnnnn**


	41. Chapter 41-Death Gun

**yup, posting a lot recently. I will update whenever I get an idea, so do not expect a set date when I will! Also, after the GGO arc, I am going to write my own arc, so don't think the story ends there! Thanks for those of you who reviewed!**

The grenade thudded onto the ground, freezing us all in shock, and ticking. 'Oh shit' I thought. Sinon was closest to me, so I grabbed her, and pulled her out. The ticking stopped with a clink. I was holding Sinon, and I put myself in between her and the bomb as we flew through the air, and the little green grenade exploded. Sinon and I landed hard, me on bottom.

"Ooof!" I grunted as we hit the hard sand. She climbed off of me. I stood, ears ringing, feeling sore. 'That fucking hurt'. It was dark out here. I shivered from the simulated cold of the desert night. Sinon drew her SMG, and I my Glock. We stood back to back, turning slowly.

"So, can you see anything?" I asked the girl with superior in-game sight.

"No" she said simply, and we stood there, taking in our surroundings. I knew that from a grenade that close, my friends didn't make it out, but, I knew they were not actually dead, so I was not freaking out.

"Sinon, look to my three o'clock" I said. She understood, and looked to her left, my right. There was a little black dot in the distance. 'A player!' I thought. Then, out of a hunch, I shoved Sinon to the ground. As soon as I did, a bullet hole erupted from my shoulder, where her head had been a moment before, but for me, it just hurt like hell. I grunted in pain, as the force of the bullet knocked me to the ground. Sinon was already reacting, drawing ear Hecate, and pointing it at the advancing figure. Being on the ground, she was relatively safe, but, the wind was blowing from random directions. This meant that, although she was hard to hit, if she shot, the bullet could turn on almost any direction, missing him by a mile, or, grazing his ear.

"Damn" she swore. Using ,y left hand, I tore a section of my shirt off, and bound it over the hole in my shoulder, slowing the leak of blood, and therefore, slowing the detriment of my HP.

"Can I do anything?" I asked.

"Unless you have the instincts of a god or something, no!" She said, frustrated.

"Well….." I said. She took her head off her scope.

"What" she demanded, not questioning.

"Maybe we could try…" and I made a plan.

"That is a dumbass plan, and we are both likely to get killed." She said after I finished explaining it.

"Yup." I agreed. "Got any better ideas?" She grunted, and shook her head.

After the Bleeding effect of the bullet stopped, we waited a few hours for my HP to restore naturally, while neither us or the figure moved from our current position. Once done, I turned on Stealth.

Being hidden before Stealth, I knew he didn't see me leave. I also knew that at a close range, my Stealth Skill was useless. I walked slowly towards the figure.

'Something isn't right…..' I thought. 'How in the hell did he throw a grenade that far?' I was within ten meters when he noticed me. I had gone out on a hunch, and guessed it was Death Gun, and I was right. He drew his Death Gun pistol, and pointed it at me. I dropped to the ground, as bullets zipped over me. I rolled, and more bullets hit the ground where I just was. I stood when the familiar click of an empty clip told me I was safe, and drew my green saber.

'Use the force, Luke!' I thought to myself. He dropped his pistol, and took the rifle off his back, and it too, got lain on the ground.

"You are the real deal" he said, that mechanical bass voice reverberating throughout me. He took what looked exactly like my saber out of a hidden pocket, and turned it on, a scarlet blade pulsating in the air.

"Oh, come on! Isn't me having a lightsaber enough? Then you had to make it green! THEN you had to give him a red one, while he is clad in a machine suite? Wow! That is sooo lame!" I yelled into the sky. "Fuck you!"

"Yelling at the air will not save you!" He said, dramatically.

"I swear on my and Argo's life, if you say 'Tryth, I am your father' I will kill you IRL."

"The, Tryth… I am your-" he got rudely cut off by me attacking furiously with my green blade. He blocked.

"You are not as good as you were in Sword Art, why is that? Have you gotten soft?" He asked, and I struck faster, and harder.

"You will not win!" I screamed as I attacked.

He backed out of my range. "This will give you a real reason to fight." I scrunched my eyebrows, confused.

"How?"

"You think I am working alone? You already pieced it together that I must have accomplices. One of them is standing over Sinon, waiting for her to die in game, so he can inject her with a poison that will stop her heart. Another has Argo hostage, inside your house!" My eyes widened in fear, then anger. He laughed at my livid look. "As the teens say nowadays, 'come at me bro'."

And I went at him

"HOW" slash, "DARE" stab "YOU" hack "THREATEN" slice "ARGO" and a flurry of blows so fast, even I could not keep track of them. I sliced, attacking in rage, which is the first lesson in ever self defense class ever, 'never attach in anger'. I learned why now. My attacks were clumsy, and ill timed. He sliced at my exposed stomach, nearly taking out all of my HP in one hit. I backed away. The good thing for me, is that these blades do not have Bleeding effect.

"Damn you" I grunted.

"Prepare to die" he said, advancing. A small explosion made him stop. I turned to see Sinon, beat up, at about ten meters, holding her rifle.

"Next time, make sure there wasn't someone else before ditching the defenseless sniper." She said. I smiled.

"I was already here when I figure that he couldn't have thrown that grenade." I stated, walking towards my friend. She had her Hecate pointed right at Death Gun.

"Now, talk!" She demanded. I heard Death Gun chuckling.

"Shoot him, Sinon!" I shouted.

"Why?" She asked, "I want him to explain everything." She said.

"Fine" rumbled Death Gun. "There is someone standing over you, waiting for you to die, or log out, then he will kill you" he said simply. Her eyes widened, and her breath quickened.

"Sinon!" I said. "Shoot me! Take me out of the game, then wait ten minutes, then kill him!" I said.

"What?" She asked, in shock.

"Actually, first, tell me where you live. I cannot let another friend die!" She told me her address, and I opened my menu, and logged out. I woke up inside the hospital room.

"Done already?" Asked my nurse.

"No time to talk!" I grabbed my shirt, and dashed out of the room. 'First, home, because Argo is in more danger than Sinon.' I thought. I arrived at the door, and was about to fling it open, but thought better of it. I walked to a window that was open, took the screen off, and climbed in. I was inside our bedroom. I quietly walked out, and in the kitchen, I saw Argo tied up, with a blonde kid standing over her. He wasn't facing me, so I stood, and tip toed towards him.

"Hey, fuck face!" I said. He turned and I gave him a nasty right jab to the nose. He stumbled, and I grabbed a frying pan, and hit him over the head. I then grabbed a knife from a drawer, and cut Argo's bonds.

"Tie him with duct tape, I have to go, Sinon is in danger!" I said, and dashed out, taking the knife, towards her address. As I was dashing, I took out my phone.

'Goddamnit!' I thought. It has already been eight minutes since I told her I would save her. I ran faster, ignoring my screaming lungs, and legs.

I arrived at an apartment complex, and ran up the stairs towards her apartment number.

I heard thudding inside. I tied the door, felt that it was unlocked, and threw it open. I saw this other blonde kid standing, with a syringe to a brown haired girl's neck.

"Don't take another step!" He said. "Or I will kill her!" He grinned sadistically, "And drop the knife"

'Not good'


	42. Chapter 42-Fiancée

**I know, third chapter of the day. I will try and slow down.**

Sinon watched her new friend logout. 'Friend? I see him as a friend?' She shook her head, clearing it. 'I need to wait ten minutes, without panicking.' She thought. 'Then I will obliterate this bastard, and wake up and be safe'. She understood that she was now going to win the BOB, and she knew that Tryth was going to keep her from dying before she could celebrate it. 'Yes. He is a friend'.

"Having second thoughts?" Asked her hostage, the masked man Tryth called Death Gun. "Or are you scared?"

'Of course I am scared, how could I not be? There is a killer looming over my body, waiting to end me, and you are asking the idiotic question?!' But she actually said "Shut up, or I might not make it ten minutes!" The figure in front of her chuckled, mottled green-grey cloak billowing in the desert night's breeze. 'This is going to be a long ten minutes' she thought, forlornly.

She remembered when she almost had a panic attack when she learned there was a killer in her house. 'I am Sinon here! Not Shino! I am strong here!' She thought to herself. 'I will not let them intimidate me!'. She swept a hand through her ice blue hair. Her mind wandered to that fateful day…. many years ago…. to when her mother took her to a post office to deliver a package…..

Little Shino, was running in circles, being a little girl. Her mother was at the counter talking to another grownup. 'Grown ups are soooooo boring! Why can't we just go and play?' She thought. 'Oh well!' She kept running around, expending endless amounts of energy.

"Sit down, Shino! Stop running around!" Her mother scolded, and turned back to the clerk. The walls were a boring grey, the waiting chairs the same shade. It was all to dull for little Shino. A man sat next to her, reading a newspaper.

"Hello, mister!" Said the girl. The man lowered the paper, and grunted, and proceeded to read it.

"What'ya reading?" She asked.

"A paper, girl, keep your nose out of other people's business!" He scolded her.

'Why is everyone so mean?' She thought.

A man entered the small postal office. He was wearing all black, a t-shirt, jeans, leather jacket, and a beanie, and had a black bag slung over his shoulder. He had a shifty kind of gaze, and looked like he was scared of something.

"Hello mister!" Said little Shino to the newcomer.

"Shut up, girl!" He said, was shoved her mother out of the way. He slammed the bag on the counter, and pulled out a revolver. "Put all the money in the bag, now!" He yelled. The teller was shaking in fear.

"Sorry sir, I can't!" She said.

"Do it!" He grabbed Shino's mother by the hair, bringing her close and,pressing the gun against her neck. "Or I will kill her!" The teller, once again, shook her head, and he pointed the gun at her.

There was a loud bang, and the teller was on the ground, not moving. He pointed his gun back at her mother. A second teller stood, shaking in fear. "Now, fill the goddamned bag!"

Poor Shino didn't understand much of what was going on, except that her other was being threatened. She lept up, and ran at the man in black. He turned at the sound of her footsteps. "what the…" he started, but Shino jumped, latching onto his arm. She sank her teeth onto the extremity, forcing him to drop the gun. He flung her away. She hit the wall, with a thud. She sat up, dazed. The gun was right next to her…

"Damn you, girl!" She heard the gruff voice. She mimicked him, picking up the gun, and pointing the barrel at him.

"Oh, so you're trying to play hero? Give it to me!" He said, advancing. Shino screamed, and her hand tensed….

Sinon shivered, back in the now. She looked at her HUD. 'Those ten minutes are up, Tryth.' She pointed her Hecate at Death Gun, and squeezed. He was blown in two form the force. As soon as she saw the 'Congratulations!' Window, she logged out.

Groaning, Shino took off her AmuSphere. She opened her eyes. There was light on. 'I didn't leave the light on, did I?' She thought. She felt beside her for her glasses. Putting them on, her eyes adjusted. She saw a boy sitting in front of her. He was blonde, and kind of cute, but the expression on his face was needy, and selfish.

"Ooh, Shino! You are awake!" He said, literally drooling on himself. In his right hand, he held a syringe, full of a clear liquid. She sat up, instantly alert.

"How in hell are you in here? And why?" Though she knew the answer to both.

"I am one of the Death Gun accomplices. I am here to kill you" he said, and lunged for her. She moved to the side, foot lashing out, and connecting with his face.

"Stop struggling!" He used his superior strength to hold her still. "This will only hurt for a moment!" She slammed her heel on his foot, and he let go with a scream. She lunged for the drawer across the room. She opened it, and pulled out the pistol inside. She was going to raise it, but he smacked it out of her hands.

"Now, we can't have that, now can we?" He said. He held her, and tied her to her bed using tape he had in his pocket. He picked up the gun, and put it next to the door, far away from poor Shino. "Maybe I will rape you before I kill you, yes, I think so" he looked resolute. He was about to start undressing her struggling body, when he heard steady thumps. "Ahh, we have a visitor!" He reared the tape restraining her to the bed, but her hands and feet were still bound. He raised her, and put her in front of him, syringe to her neck. The door flew open, and a young man stood there, holding a long kitchen knife.

"Don't take another step, or I will kill her" he said. "And drop the knife!"

I saw the situation. 'Goddamnit! I am not in time!' I thought. This blonde kid was drooling on her. I did as he commanded.

"Let her go!" I said, voice even.

"Why?" He asked. I gritted my teeth. There was no reasoning my way through this. I took in the apartment quickly. Next to me was a pistol. My aim isn't good enough, I would hit Sinon. I looked at the brown haired girl. She nodded. 'Damn. I know what she in planning!' Simultaneously, I lunged for the gun, and she shoved her head back, crunching into his nose and making him back away. She ducked, and I leveled the weapon.

I squeezed the trigger once, but it was enough. I hit him in the upper chest. He fell backwards, bleeding out on her bed. I ran to Sinon, and hugged her.

"Are you okay, Sinon?" She was shaking, but soon she stopped.

"Actually, the name is Shino" she said.

I grinned. "Tryn. Nice to meet you Shino"

I let go of her, and looked at the dead body. I pulled out my phone, and dialed 110, the police.

"Hello, my name is Tryn Kansatora. I just shot someone" and I told them the address we were at.

A few days later, I was walking out of the police station in downtown Tokyo. Shino had described, for the thousandth time, what happened and I was finally allowed to leave. Argo was waiting outside the building.

"Wow, is this the last time?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yup. Now I can go home finally." I had already explained to re what happened after she and Angelica were killed by the grenade in GGO.

"Good!" Said my girlfriend. "Then, you have a promise to keep!"

I stopped, and turned to her, "What do you mean?" I asked.

"You promised we would get married!" She said, stamping her foot. She held out her left hand, "Now, put a ring on this baby!" I laughed at her.

"I remember! I was trying to surprise you, but our next stop is the diamond store" she looked so enthusiastic, I couldn't help but laughing more.

We entered the store. "Now, Argo! You can have anything you want!" I said. Her eyes opened wide. She hugged me, and dashed off to the display cases. I pulled out my phone, and dialed a number.

"Hey, Shino. You know that diamond store in downtown Tokyo? Come here. I have a surprise for you" a few minutes later, the petite brown haired girl walked in, looking flustered.

"What am I doing inside a diamond store?" She asked.

"Talking to me. I would have come to you, but, I can't exactly leave Argo here. I am letting her pick out her wedding ring."

"Usually, it is a good idea to pick it out for her" she said.

I grinned. "A better choice of words, would be that I am letting her think that she is picking it out. Actually, I already have."

"Then what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked.

"I am going to offer you a place to stay. In my house there are many unused bedrooms, so, I will come by your place later today and help you pack"

She stood, her mouth open wide. "I cannot ask that of you!" She said.

"Then don't ask, just accept."

She stood there, trying to form a sentence. Then Argo came running up, holding a ring with a massive diamond on it. "I want this one!" She said.

I chuckled. "How about this one instead?" I pulled a small black box out of my pocket. I opened it to reveal a gold ring. It had a modest diamond, but had intertwining blue and green strands, made of sapphire and emerald. She dropped the one she chose, and picked up the ringer in the box.

"It is beautiful" she said.

I got on one knee. "Will you marry me?" I asked. She tackled me as an attendant picked up the ring she dropped.

"About damned time!" Was her response.

 **End of GGO arc.**


	43. Chapter 43-Hero Work Again

**AFO arc start.**

 **thanks again to Gashadokuro Amanojaku. I bounce most of my ideas off him, and they come back better and better!**

 **a shout out to everyone reviewing, I love the feedback, even the negative! It helps a lot!**

It was Saturday morning, and I was laying there, with my beloved in my arms. The soft king size bed was warm, and kept us from exiting. It was the day after we officially got married. The date is December 23, 2026. The soft linen sheets over our stark bodies helping stem the cold. I held her hand, looking at the two gold wedding bands, mine with an emerald ring in the center, parallel to the edges of the ring. She had sapphire. 'We are finally together, no matter what.' I thought. I heard a knock at the door. I groaned aloud. "Give us a moment" I said. We stood, a little annoyed about having to leave the bed. We dressed, and I opened the door. Shino was standing there. She was looking very excited, and not in a good way.

"Have you seen the news?!" She asked, almost hopping from one foot to another.

"No, why?" I asked. She grabbed my hand, and dragged me down to our living room. Once she had me there, she shoved me into the couch, and ran to the very large television, flipping it on. She grabbed the remote, and changed the channel to the local news station.

"... and this fanatic has threatened us with World War three! Back to you" said a woman. It went back to the news station.

"Yes, you heard correctly. For those of you just tuning in, there is someone, claiming to be the Death Gun! The killer from the VRMMORPG, Gun Gale Online. He says that the son of a multi billionaire, Tryn Kansatora, wronged him, and he wants revenge! The local police are trying to handle this, but it seems…" he stopped talking, and put a finger to his ear, listening to the hidden earwig.

"It seems he is trying to make communication, let's patch him in" the screen changed, to show Sterben. He had a plain black background, and had on the same metal mask as in the game.

"I am Death Gun. I currently have control of the whole Japanese nuclear mission arsenal." This caused me to wake up fully. Argo had just come down the stairs, grumbling about her husband being dragged away by some girl. She rubbed her eyes, and opened them. When she saw the television, she gasped.

"What the hell?" She said. "I thought they were all caught?" She breathed. She sat beside me.

"As you know, one of my brothers was caught, and sent to jail, by Tryn. The other was killed, by the same person. I want revenge." She gripped my hand, tightly, squeezing so hard, I felt like my fingers were being crushed. "You are more heartless than I. I know you killed dozens of people in the game Sword Art Online. I know you killed them in cold blood. How can you live with yourself?" He said. Shino was sitting in a chair, a little ways away, and she looked, for the first time, livid. But Argo beat her to speaking.

"He lives because he know that he saved us! He killed dozens to save thousands!" She screamed at the screen, but Death Gun continued.

"As all of you know, the latest, and most popular Virtual Reality Online Game has been released, called Arcane Forces Online. I am challenging you to defeat my in the game. Both of us will be using NerveGear rigs, so, if one of us dies in game, our bodies cease to live as well"

"Fuck off! He will never succumb to the likes of you!" Shouted Argo. I paled at his words. 'Die in game. Damn'

"If you do not enter the game by December 25, noon, then the nuclear mission arsenal will be launched at the United States of America, causing World War Three." My hands were clammy, and I was sweating heavily. But I continued to listen.

"Once we are both in game, neither of us will be able to log out. If I am killed by some outside stimulus, the missions will be launched. If I am disconnected, the missiles will launch. If you die, the missiles will launch. If I am defeated in game, they will not fire towards the biggest superpower in the world. Once I am in full dive, the government will have access to my body while I am inside the game, so they can keep me alive. I recommend the same to you. I will know if you are not using a NerveGear rig, and if you are not, the missiles will launch. Remember, noon, December 25". Then the screen changed back to the anchorman.

"Well, this is a startling series of events." Said the anchorman, then Shino shut the screen off with a remote she found. Argo turned to me.

"I absolutely forbid you to do as he says!" She yelled. "I forbid it!"

"Argo…"I started.

"I know what you are going to say, but let the police play hero now! You have done enough!" She glared at Shino. "Back me up!" She commanded.

"Sorry, but I am on her side, Tryn". She said.

"Okay. I understand why you are doing this, but for that exact same reason I have to" I said, explaining. "If he fired those nukes, America will fire back, along with their European allies, and nothing here in Japan will stand, you will all be dead, and I couldn't stop it. At least I have a chance now."

She glared at me. "Fuck that! I don't care if I die, as long as it is by your side!" She screamed.

"SHUT UP" I roared. She looked like a slapped puppy dog. "I don't want to do this. But, I cannot let you die. Ever. Please understand that." I stood up, and hugged her. "Shino, how much is one of those games?" I asked the brown haired girl, still holding Argo.

"The cheapest I found was 14771 yen." 'Damn, 132 dollars.' "And all the stores are sold out for the next few weeks." 'Damnit!' My phone rang next to the couch. I picked it up, and the caller ID said "Agil". I answered.

"Hey old friend, what's up?" I asked.

"Dude, have you seen the news?"

"Yes, Death Gun just made an appearance. What you got?"

"I have a copy of Arcane Forces Online, that's what!"

"Good, can I borrow it?" I asked, excited.

"For as long as you need buddy. Hey, does Argo know that you are planning to accept his challenge?"

"Sadly, yes. She yelled for a bit, but I told her why I have to"

"So. I have Liz here. And Silica. They want to help"

"I don't thin-" I was cut off by a harsh female voice on the other side.

"Who gives a damn? You think you can get all the credit of taking this bastard down? Nah uh you don't!"

"Hello, Liz." I said wearily. " it what if-"

"Oh, shut up, you dumbass! 'What if-', what if what? What if he fires the nukes anyways? Just accept it before Argo hears what we are saying and decides to help as well!"

"Too late" I said. My wife had heard the conversation, ad was looking at me with determination in her eyes.

Argo spoke. "Yeah, we will help! That you cannot stop! Just like we cannot stop you from naming hero!"

Agil's voice came on the phone. "Hey, I'll be at your house in a few minutes to pick you up. The government official guy says the hospital room is all yours, whatever that means. Better go dig up your NerveGear rig"

"I hate having good friends" I said, and hung up. I walked upstairs to our bedroom. I knelt down, and got a box out from under the bed. Inside were two AmuSpheres, each ready to be hooked up. I sighed, and lifted them up to reveal my old NerveGear rig. I bought Argo and I the newer and better AmuSpheres, but I just couldn't throw my old rig away. I picked it up, and walked out front, where Agil was in his sports car waiting for me. Argo came running up, dragging Shino.

"Don't you dare think you are getting rid of us this easily!" She said.

"Stay here" I commanded. "Shino, you can use my AmuSphere, Argo, use yours, enter the game. Do what you do best Argo, find out everything you can. I will need it."

She looked on the verge of rebelling, but Shino grabbed her hand, and pulled her back, shouting "Yes sir!" Over her shoulder. '"Sir"? Damn, that makes me feel old'. I climbed into the black car, and Agil sped to the hospital I directed him to.

 **Now then, who likes the direction this is going?**

 **if I don't post for long periods, know that I, just like everyone else, go through writers block, and sometimes I have an important exam coming up in school.**

 **thanks faithful readers!**


	44. Chapter 44-AFO

**thanks everyone for reading!**

Agil drove me to the hospital in his black sports car. Once there, he handed me a small box, labeled Arcane Forces Online, and I nodded my thanks.

"See you in game!" He said, climbing in his car and driving off. I had the game box inside the NerveGear helmet, and I ran inside. I dashed past people in white cloaks, past people in blue scrubs, and up stairs, knowing I was faster than the elevator. I burst into the hospital room panting heavily.

"Hey" said my nurse, Lisa. "I have been expecting you… but…" she gestured to the other two people in the stark white room. One was Seijirō Kikuoka, the government official, and the other was a man in a black suit, black tie, and looked very much like the stereotypical American FBI agent. The agent looked at me, with dark sunglasses.

"Hello Tryn. I am with the government, and I am here to tell you that I cannot allow you to go in full dive." I nearly flipped him off.

"Well, I am here to tell you to fuck off" I said. I faced Lisa. "Here, boot it up" I handed her the helmet and game cartridge.

He faced Lisa as well. "If you do that, I will arrest you".

"Lisa, he cannot arrest you, he has no reason" I said to the indecisive woman. The man took off his shades.

"Yes I can. The Prime Minister has just issued a decree, we are in martial law" he smiled, "so, basically, you have to do what I say"

"Fuck off" I said. "Lisa, continue." I took off my shirt, ready for the electrodes. The nurse nodded, and started hooking the NerveGear up to the wall, and internet. I sat on the bed, getting ready to have the IV inserted into my arm. I felt a firm grip on my shoulder.

"As I said I cannot-" was all he got out.

A woman was walking her dogs downtown. She was passing in front of Tokyo Central Hospital, and a man in a black suit fell from the sky, yelling the whole way down.

I closed the window after throwing out that man who annoyed me so. I turned, and walked to the bed, laying down. Kikuoka appeared by my side.

"I cannot ask you to do this, I can only thank you for doing it." He said, holding out his hand. "I must remind you, Death Gun said, that once you are in, the only way for you to exit is for you to kill him."I took his hand, shaking it.

"I know." I lay back, "Oh, and, put all the needles into me after I go into fulldive. They still hurt otherwise." I said. Lisa grinned.

"Big baby" she said, handing me the helmet.

"Yup." I took the piece of hardware I thought I was never going to see again, let alone wear.

See you whenever I finally get out. Hey, I was wondering. If he managed to hide himself good, then it might take me a while… a long while…. Like, years" I said. Kikuoka nodded.

"We know"

I took my last look of the real world that I would see for a long while.

"Link, start!"

Again, the colors zipped by… then the blackness. I saw a little envelope sign appear, with a number one on it. I tapped it to open my NerveGear email.

Sender: Akihiko Kayaba

Message: I am writing this as you fight Death Gun. I am proud of you, you have become a great hero, and person in general. Yes, you have done many horrible things, but for the right reason. I am sending this to you, knowing I will not last much longer. There is a game in development, called Arcane Force Online, or AFO for short. One of the Death Gun brothers escaped the police, never being caught, and seeks revenge. He hopes to trap you in AFO, where he, whom I know will be the final boss, or something along that lines, waits to kill you, analyzing the way you fight. To kill him will be harder than all of your previous battles together, and you will need the help of your friends. Do not shoulder this responsibility by yourself, share the weight. Your friends will greatly appreciate it. I wish you luck, fearing you will need it. Also, I hope you like the gift I have left you…. you will know it when you see it, and let's just say that it allows you to not start off the weakest player on the game.

P.S. There is someone in here I want you to meet…. she is in the game full time just like you…..

I finished reading, processing his words. 'Damn, that Kayaba! How does he always know what will happen?' I thought. I waited for the game to boot automatically, and it did. I saw a bright white background, and then it changed. The words 'Arcane Force' were printed in scarlet cursive letters, surrounded by an electric blue flame. Then it started. Another black background. Then, I saw pictures. One was of a really buff man holding a huge broadsword. Another of a petite woman in white robes and a tall white staff. Third was a cloaked figure in a tree, a knife in hand. Last was of a man standing erect, with a drawn bow. They were labeled Warrior, Mage, Rogue, and Ranger respectively. Then, another window. This one said "Would you like to use your Sword Art profile?" I grinned. 'This must be that gift that Kayaba promised'. I hit "yes" with my hand.

Then, I tapped Warrior, and I heard a feminine voice. "The Warrior is a basic fighter, using strength and speed to overwhelm his opponents. He rarely uses magic, and all he can do is buff his speed and strength temporarily" 'eh, okay'

I tapped Mage. "The Mage can use any type of Magic, and has the most mana in the game, though though the least health. The Mage can also buff allied player with speed, strength, and can heal, or bestow mana upon them." 'Not my kind of thing'.

I skipped the other two, guessing what they did, and their abilities.

'Well, I guess that I get all of my other abilities from SAO, if I choose Warrior…. so here goes something!' Hoping, I double tapped Warrior. I saw another window open, this one with stats. I saw that I originally had ten SP to place, and two were placed on Str, and the other eight split between Agi and Int. The screen name box said "Tryth", and I left everything as it is, being happy with what the computer made of my previous profile. "Are you happy with your selection?" I heard.

"Yes" I said aloud.

"Then you shall begin your journey through the Arcane Force world!"bright colors appeared, and manifested into the online world.

I stood inside a small town. People were wearing tunics, and cloaks. 'So, basically Sword Art clothing' I thought. I raised my right hand, and quickly lowered it to find the menu. 'Sword Art menu'. I looked at my side to find a sword. I drew it and looked at the three foot steel blade. 'Damn, to short' it was a little heavy, but would serve its purpose.

I dinged. I opened my menu to find I had a PM.

Sender:Argo

Message: I am taking a guess that you used the same screen name, so I hope this works. In a few minutes, I am going to send you a friend request, then we can meet up at an inn or something.

I read it through, and dinged again. I reopened my menu, and saw the she did send a friend request…. as did Silica, Liz, and Sinon. I grinned. 'They are not stuck in this game until someone dies, so they can have fun' I thought. I accepted them all, and sent a message stating an inn close to where I was. I walked inside, and took a corner seat. An npc waitress came by, and I ordered just some water u tail my friends got here. Only a few minutes later, they came in.

"Tryth!" Yelled Silica and Liz in excitement.

"Hey, girls. It has been a while" 'oh shit, that sounded wrong, now Liz is going to…'

"Ooh, Tryth! Don't talk that way to us in front of your wife, she might correctly guess we have something between us!" Teased the Smith. She had the exact same avatar as in SAO, in fact, all but Sinon had their avatars.

Sinon had an avatar much like her GGO avatar. Blue hair, blue eyes, but she had a cloak that covered everything.

"Man, it is good to be back!" I said.

 **Now then, I plan on this being the last arc, so, please comment**


	45. Chapter 45-Noobs and Bosses

They took a seat, Argo next to me, and the other two girls across the booth. Of course, they ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, and thankfully all of my col in SAO transferred to the gold here in AFO. They ate, and I just sat, complaining about them eating away my pocket book. The seats of the booth were a deep red, and all of the colors of the little tavern were either the same shade of red, or brown. I was staring into space, having finished the steak in front of me.

"Earth to Tryth, earth to Tryth, do you read me? Over" teased Argo. "Hey, what's bothering you?" She asked.

"Oh nothing" I said, snapping back to the here and now. "So what did you say?" I asked.

She squinted not accepting my answer, and her expression told me we would talk later. "We were wondering how long do you think this will take" she said. "Finding Death Gun, and ending this, once and for all".

I sighed, and stared into space again. "I could be stuck in this game for the rest of my life." I opened my menu, went to settings, and turned it around. They saw the missing logout button. "The only way out, is either him dying, or me. And if I die, you all will soon follow." I nodded resolutely. "I am going to go and grind for a while. Hey Liz, I know you are going to be a Smith in this game, so, when your skill gets high enough, mind making me a sword?" I asked.

She nodded. "Anything for Tryn-kun!" She said, liking the expression of exasperation that crossed my features.

"Okay, just because you kissed me once does not give you the right to call me that!" I said sternly to the pink haired friend.

She got a mischievous look. "No, I get to call you that because I llllooooovvvvveeee you" she drew out the word.

"And I am leaving, I will not be here to see Argo get all super jealous on your ass. I'm going to go grind." I started out the door.

"You can get on my ass anytime, Tryn-kun!" The smith shouted.

"Stop using my real name" I shouted over my shoulder. I also heard Argo berating her for shouting that out loud, even though the tavern was empty save for the npc's. I walked out, and asked a nearby player for a good grinding spot. He directed me, and I walked in that direction. It was towards some woods, and I just wandered through them. Then, a sudden pain flared in my shoulder. I spun to see this little creature. It was labeled [Mischievous Imp]. It was about two feet tall, and looked obese. It's skin was the color of the trees, so it was no simple task picking it out. It had a hollowed out stick in its hand. I drew the short sword, and [Slice]d it into pixels.

My XP gauge filled a little. 'Hrmph. Too weak, I need to fight something stronger'. I wandered, hacking [Mischievous Imp]s into pieces, and after about an hour, got to level three. 'This is taking way too long' I thought, as another fell to my blade. I wandered and heard sounds of fighting. I ran to them, and saw this girl. She was a little shorter than me, and had long dark blue, almost black hair. She was graceful, and looked like she knew what she was doing. In front of her, was a mini boss. It had three health bars, and was called [Papa Imp]. And it looked pissed. This thing had the same basic features as its little counterparts, baking almost as wide as it was tall, and the color of dark coffee, but this one had a long white beard, and a scimitar in one hand.

The girl had just dodged an attack meant for her, and was flying through the air. She had a blade in hand, that was similar to the ones I use, just a little wider, meaning heavier. She just used [Linear] right in the face to make it stumble, and was going in to do a lot of damage. But it recovered quickly, punching her mid air. It was about to slice her in half with its scimitar, but I dashed in the way, a [Inverted Vertical] allowing me to block the attack without damage. The big imp took a few step back.

"Who are you?" She asked, grumpily.

"Someone who wants that sword of yours. How much did it cost?" I asked, keeping an eye on the imp, waiting for its next attack.

"Twenty thousand gold, I doubt you can pay that!"

"I want it. I will give you the sword I have and fourth thousand" I said, serious.

"Do you even have-" I cut her off by showing her my menu. "Holy shit! Deal!" She handed me the sword, and I gave her what I promised.

I faced the [Papa Imp]. "Now them, for some XP!" I said.

"You are a noob! How can you-" I cut her off.

"I will give you the rest of my gold if I lose." I said. She nodded, shutting up. I dashed towards the enemy. It swung down, knowing my intentions. As soon as I felt the blade touch my hair, I sidestepped. I heard the girl gasp at my speed. I jumped on the blade, ran up it, and used [Crucifixion] on the mini boss. That took away the rest of the first health bar. I backed away. 'This sword is a little heavy, but otherwise, it is perfect!' I thought. The boss roared, attack pattern changing. I decided not to wait and see it's new pattern. I dashed in, using a skill I haven't before: [Howling Octave]. My blade was glowing red with the skill, ready to strike. I stabbed five times, making the target stumble, and then slashed downwards, followed by an upwards strike, and finally, spinning around to increase power, another upwards slash. The boss fell back, defeated.

"Holy shit" said the girl I got the blade from "how in the hell did you do that?" She demanded.

I grinned, sheathing the blade at my side. "It's call having done things like this before." I said. A screen popped up in front of me, telling my I leveled up three times, now level six. I selected an option called "Auto Place", so the computer placed my SP on Agi and Int, with a little on Str.

"I mean how did you, one use an eight combo Sword Skill at such a low level, and two, take out amboss with it?" She said, standing.

"Well, it was a fire type Skill, so, that helped a lot." I said, not liking how offensive she was being.

"That doesn't answer the first question!" She said, up in my face.

'If I wasn't married, I would definitely try and ask this girl out' I thought, but I said "And to that, I don't know, I just kind of… did it"I shrugged.

She grunted, turning.

I saw a screen pop up, giving my the drops from the boss. It was a rapier type blade, as long as the one I had now, but thinner. It was four feet of dark steel. I saw the girl was walking away.

"Hey, you want your sword back?" I asked. She stopped.

"Why would you give it back? I am keeping the money!"

"Fine. I just got a rapier, which I very much prefer"

"What is the catch?" She demanded, squinting.

"Hmm, accompany me to an inn, where I will buy dinner. Oh, and I want your screen name" I said.

"Hemph. And why are you being so nice?" She asked.

"Because I am stuck in this damned game for a long time, might as well make the best of it" I said.

"And how do I know you won't take advantage of me?" She asked.

"There is an ethics filter. In other words, if I am sexually harassing you or anything like that, you can instant kill me" she nodded.

"Fine then, as long as you are paying!"

"As long as you have an idea of where to go"

She grinned maliciously, "Oh, I do!" She laughed at my discomfort. "Oh, and the name is Yuuki. Yours?"

"My screen name is Tryth." We shook hands.

 **Yes, I added her. Deal with it!**


	46. Chapter 46-Yuuki

**I am planning to have Yuuki play a big role in this arc, so, you should get used to her staying in the story.**

 **Thanks again, to those who reviewed! It helps, believe it or not!**

I handed her the blade, and put my new one in my inventory. "Thanks" she mumbled. 'Hmm, she isn't good at gratitude.' And she led me towards the city I just left. As we were walking towards the population, through the forest, I checked my HUD. 6:37pm. 'Well, time for dinner anyways!' I thought. I tripped once, but then watched my step. We arrived back at the inn I was in only hours ago. We sat in the exact same booth. She ordered some salmon, while I got the same steak, having loved it before. She dug in, acting as though she hasn't eaten in years. I giggled at her lack of table manners, and she glared at me, stopping the giggling. When she finished, she stood.

"It has been nice knowing you, Tryth." She said, bowing, "I should go"

"Wow" I laughed, "No table manners, but social skills? Ha!" I took a bite out of my steak. "Stay. I will pay for your room, and we can party tomorrow, and fight a stronger boss". She looked stunned.

"Why?"

"So we can take down bigger bosses, and more XP, and the cycle continues" I said around the steak.

"No, why with me?"

"Because I am getting a good vibe from you, Yuuki. And I am good at judging people, so, I trust you". This made her blush.

"Dumbass, why trust someone you just meet?!" She sat down. "And, you said that you are stuck in this game, what do you mean?" She seemed to care more about her second question than her first. I finished my steak, and thought about the question, all while she stared intently at me.

"Well, I cannot answer that question without reviewing my IRL identity…." she nodded, understanding. It was against the Gamer's Code to ask someone their true identity. "But, if you will meet me in my room in about an hour, I will tell you." As soon as I said it, I knew I phrased that wrong. "Don't get any ideas! I mean to just talk!" I said, flustered in embarrassment. 'This is soooo going peachy'.

"Fine" she said. I waved the npc waitress over, paid for our meals, and then for two rooms. Mine was very basic, a twin size bed, chair, and table. Nothing fancy. Hers was a king size bed, in a suite. So, she was happy. We walked into our separate rooms, and at the allotted time, she entered my room. I was in a black tunic and pants, with matching boots.

I noticed what I thought was blue hair was actually a deep purple, almost black. She was very pale, but her skin had a healthy flush to it. She wore a violet tunic, and a matching skirt with thigh high white socks. She also had black shoes. Her scarlet eyes were searching for the answer I promised earlier. "Hello, Yuuki." I stood, to allow her to sit on the bed whilst I took the chair. She did as I gestured, and stared at me.

"Well, how to start?" I thought allowed. "Here goes something! Well for starters, I am one of the richest people in Japan. My parents died when I was little, and one day, I bought a game, the first VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online…" and I went on to explain everything to her, how my siblings died, how I became the strongest player in the game after we thought Angelica died. I told her how I rescued Angelica from Oberon, and how Kayaba died only this year, in GGO, and how I stopped murderers. "So, basically, I am stuck here until one of us dies" I finished. The only things I didn't tell re was my love for Argo, thinking that was a little too personal, for now, and my unique Sword Skill, being she would probably not talk to me anymore if I tell her about that.

"Wow, you have been through hell and back!" She said.

"So, you got any stories you wish to tell?" I said.

"Nah, it's way to hard to go after that!" She said. Then she opened her menu, and sent a party request, which I accepted immediately. "See ya tomorrow!" She walked out. I lay in bed, thinking about the day. 'Damn, I cannot sleep!' I thought. I got up, and walked quietly out. I checked my HUD. 9:17pm. 'Okay, how Babur some late night grinding?' I thought, and I walked out, towards the forest where I meet Yuuki. I walked into the clearing, and found what I expected, another [Papa Imp]. I smiled. 'Time to do this! Let's see if I lost my touch!' I activated a [Linear], and pierced through the mini boss before it could react. Then, in mid air, I spun around. My feet hit the ground, and I tried another new skill. [Seven Deadly Sins]. My sword seemed to glow black, sucking in the light. 'Eat this!' This skill is a seven hit combo, made up of various attacks. First, I slashed from right to left, followed by a counterclockwise turn that I used to power a thrust. Next, I jumped over it, now in front of the boss, and, while in air, did a cross cross slash attack, and jumped above it, slicing straight down. Next, I did the final two hits, a stab, and an uppercut. The boss had a sliver of health left after my onslaught, and I took it out with a [Linear]. I sheathed the blade, as I leveled up once again, to seven. Again, I auto placed the SP. I was about to go back to the inn, ready to hit the hay, when I heard rocks falling in water. My curiosity was piqued, so I walked towards the sound.

I exited the forest to see a brilliant lake, and Yuuki skipping rocks across the surface. I was about to call out, but she started to sigh. It was a content sigh. "I think I found a friend." She said, throwing another rock. "He is kind, generous, and knows what is right from wrong." Another sigh. "And, just like me, he is stuck inside this damned game! Is it possible this is fate?" Another rock. "I feel so at ease around him, like no one will ever hurt me again. He gives off the vibe of 'trust me, you will be fine', even though I know I will not be." Another rock accompanied with another sigh, bigger this time. I was about to leave when I was shoved forward violently.

I landed right next to Yuuki, about twenty feet away. "Shit that hurt!" I swore.

"What the hell!" She yelled. "Were you listening to all of that?"

"Yes, kind of!" I stood and faced what threw my, and it was another [Papa Imp]. "For now, can we focus on the mob?" 'How the hell did it respawn so quickly? Damn, this does not look good'. It roared, and then started to grow in size, and then its name changed to [Enraged Papa Imp]. 'I was right'. "Fuck this!" I said. My sword glowed a brilliant white. [Shining Blade]. I dashed at the imp, and it swung, much faster than the weaker version of this thing. I sliced at the scimitar, shattering it instantly. I roared, and stabbed through it, whipping around to do a flurry of stabs and slashed across the entirety of its head and back. It was dead in a minute.

I landed, panting from the exertion. I examined my sword. There were nicks and scratches in the new blade. I winced 'I hope Liz isn't too pissed about me almost ruining a sword in one day' I thought.

"What the hell was that?" Demanded Yuuki. "I have never even heard of a Sword Skill like that!"

"That is my unique skill, [Shining Blade]. It is a infinite skill, using the cooldown of other skills, so I can use it indefinitely." I explained. "I got it in SAO, but didn't tell you thinking you would hate me for being so powerful"

"Dumbass! That is soooo cool!" She said. "Lucky bastard!".

Then she realized something. "Wait, what did you hear me talking about…" she asked, suspicious.

I hate telling the truth. "I heard you saying that you met someone, who is actually a friend, and is stuck in this game just like you, and that you trust him. I will not ask you to explain any of it, I was eavesdropping, and I should have left you alone." I said, hanging my head.

"You dumbass. Let's go back to the inn" she said, and I followed, stunned about her reaction. 'She isn't pissed? Who is this girl?'


	47. Chapter 47-Already Almost Dead

**yes this is a longer chapter, but only slightly.**

We were standing back to back. I had my rapier, which I have taken to calling Dark Slicer, and she had a huge sword I bought for her, called Giant's Fist. At its widest, it was a shocking six inches, and being nearly five feet, it was a heavy sword, but she one handed it with ease, reminding me of Angelica. There were ten [Enraged Papa Imp]s surrounding us in the forest. My blade started glowing white with the activation of [Shining Blade], and hers red with [Sharp Nail]. I charged, slicing through a half health bar with each hit. My five fell quickly, leveling me up to ten, and her five fell soon after that, putting her level at nine.

"Wow, you are almost as good as me!" I said to her.

"Yeah right, I was only using a regular skill, not that cheating piece of shit!" She was referring to my unique skill. I laughed. As we explored the forest, we found out that what we thought was a mini boss, was actually a standard mob, meaning there were plenty to go around.

"Ha! You weren't that hard to find!" I heard a voice that has not reached my ears in a while. I turned and ran up to Angelica, squeezing her in a hug. Tailing her were my other friends.

"Wow, it has been a while!" I said to her, releasing her. "Did Argo call you?" I asked she nodded, but Liz beat her to speaking.

"Ooh, Tryth-kun has a new girlfriend! Be careful Argo, you might have him stolen from you!" She said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh my god! Liz just shut up!" I said. Then I introduced my new friend, "This is Yuuki. She is a very nice person, and we are friends in this game. She has been helping me get the hang of it. So Argo, got anything for me" I asked the famous info broker.

"Oh boy do I!" She said, in her faded green cloak. "First, the objective for humanity is to take the world. Simple enough in theory. Humans are stuck on this island, and will be attacked by other humans, at which point, they can build boats, and go attacking others."

"Thanks, your the best!" I said to her.

"I am not done. I had a nerd friend of mine build something for me!" She pulled out a small green crystal. "This, when you have it in your inventory, will allow you to send PMs to our phones, essentially texting us!" She handed the small crystal. I took it, and put it in my inventory.

"That it?" I asked.

"No!" Said Silica. She had a small blue dragon on her shoulder. "I got Pina!" She said, super excited. I grinned, but shot Argo a of fused look. She explained.

"She found out that as the mage class, she can become a beast tamer. She then got Pina from her SAO profile!" I nodded.

"That's awesome, Silica!" I stroked the little dragon's head, electing a purr.

"Hey! Did you forget someone!" I heard my best friend shout out. I turned to her. "Sorry." I said.

"No prob!" She laughed. She had this broadsword on her back.

"Still a strength type?" I asked, gesturing to the blade.

"Still a speed type?" She asked, gesturing to the thin rapier, Dark Slicer. We laughed, and hugged again.

"We need to exchange phone numbers". I said to her.

"Well, Argo put my number in your crystal thing, so, you can copy and paste into your phone contacts or something!" She said, laughing the whole time. I backed away from my friends.

"This is day one of my journey. Should I expand you gals here on a regular basis?" I asked, they all nodded in unison. "Well then, Argo, you should know this, point in the direction of a boss, Yuuki and I want some major XP!"

She grinned, "I have just the place" and she started off. I turned to Yuuki, and waved her towards us.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, seeing her downcast face.

"Oh, nothing!" She put on a stoic masquerade, but I wasn't fooled.

"Okay" I said. 'She will tell me when she is ready'. We followed my other friends. I walked alongside Yuuki, refusing to let her be an outsider. We followed through the forest. "Hey, if you need someone, I am here" I said to her. She nodded, not meeting my eyes.

Yuuki followed Tryth's friends with him beside her. She saw his friends, and how he acted around them, and couldn't help it. She remembered that all of her friends were dead… 'but that cannot stop me from being happy, I refuse to let it!' She knew she was dying, and she would tell Tryth, she would. At some point.

"Hey, if you need someone, I am here" Tryth said to her. She nodded, not trusting to look at him. This Argo person led the, throughout the forest, towards a part they haven't been to yet. She led us to… you guessed it! Another clearing! we all walked towards the center, and formed a circle, facing outward. They heard a roar. 'Damn, that sounded big' she thought. They broke the circle and faced the direction the roared came from. Yuuki gripped her sword tighter, fear gripping her.

Out of the forest, a giant being burst forth. It was a kind of bear, but at over fifteen feet tall, it was a very large bear. It had foot long claws, that were dripping with some yellow liquid. 'Don't get scratched by the claws, got it'. It had grey fur, that was tinged with red. Its eyes were so tiny, at first, Yuuki couldn't see them, but when the thing blinked, she saw that the eyes were rimmed with red on the fur, and they themselves were red. She saw four health bars float near its head, and the name [Imp's Giant Pet] above the HP bars. She stepped forward, the first one to take a crack at the thing. She stood erect, laying her sword on her shoulder. It charged towards her. Yuuki's sword seemed to glow a purple-black color, and at the last moment, she jumped. She unleashed the seven hit combo of [Seven Deadly Sins], all over the boss's face, and right after she dealt the final hit of the Skill, it stumbled. She looked at her handiwork, but less than an eighth of its health was down. It recovered quickly, and before she could react, swatted her. She was thrown backward, and hit a tree, her health decreasing by a third, but the saw the paralyzed sign under her health bar. 'Damnit!' She thought, 'Damnit damnit damnit damnit!' It approached her, and swung down. The person she heard called Angelica appeared in front of her, sword raised, blocking the attack meant for the paralyzed girl.

"Tryth! Now!" She yelled. She moved her eyes, and saw her new friend nod, and jump high, using [Sonic Leap] to get high above the boss. It was about to raise its claws and block, but the pink haired girl ran up, and slammed a mace into the hand saying "Bad whatever you are! Bad!" And it pulled its hand back, recoiling from pain, giving Tryth the opening he needed. Whilst in air, his sword caught fire with [Howling Octave], and he sliced and stabbed at the creature's face. She didn't see its health, but by its screams, and the recoil with each strike, she guessed his attacks were effective. The little cloaked figure named Argo appeared by her side, lifting her head, and forcing her to drink a bottle of yellow liquid, taking away the paralysis. She sat up, and looked at the boss. Already, it was down to one and a half health bars, and dropping as Tryth switched from skill to skill, hitting fast and hard each time. It was almost like he was flying he stayed in the air so long. Yuuki stood, and watched in awe as he took down the health, all the way to a sliver of the final bar before it retaliated, slapping him away. He thudded against a tree on the other side, his health from that one attack in the orange. It advanced on him. She heard all of his companions yell his name in fear and ran to the two. 'They won't make it' Yuuki thought. Right before Tryth was cut down, an arrow sprouted from the back of the bosses neck. It froze, and exploded in blue lights. She saw Tryth had been paralyzed as well, and Argo got out another yellow potion, and forced him to drink it. He stood, and looked at the shooter of the arrow, as did Yuuki.

She saw another cloaked figure, this one holding a longbow in its hands. The hood was drawn, so she didn't see the face. It spoke with a feminine voice, "I leave you for a day, and you already almost die" she pulled the hood off to reveal a pale face, with sky blue eyes and matching hair.

"Gods, Sinon, thanks a lot!" Tryth said.

"What do you mean by "almost die"?" Asked Yuuki, "if he dies, won't he just respawn?"

Tryth shook his head. "I didn't want to tell you this, but if I die in game, I die IRL" Yuuki absorbed this information.

"Then let us make sure you don't die!" Was her answer, "Now, Sinon" she looked at the Ranger. "Any good heavy swords in the drop?"

"Oh my god, can we eat first!" Said Tryth. "Almost dying has made me famished!" Everyone got a crack out of this, except for Yuuki.

'Him dying is not funny, not at all. Damn! What am I thinking! I can't get to attached to him! What if he does die! No, I have to keep him at a distance'.

"Food it is then, Baka!" Said Argo.

"Okay, if you're calling me that then…...Mwahahahaaaa!" Laughed Tryth maliciously.

"Gods, don't you dare do this again!"

"Neko!" Yelled Tryth.

"But I am not a neko in this game!"

"So?" He asked, puppy dog look. "My kitty!" She grumbled.

"Fine, whatever!"

 **I would love to hear what you think!**


	48. Chapter 48-Two Stuck In Game

**hey, I hope you lime the way the story is going, review if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to send some hate mail**

We were all seated in the same inn that we have been at many times now, at a large round table, laughing, and literally eating away at my pocketbook all of their avatars were the same from ALO, so they weren't that are to recognize, although, Silica, Sinon, and Argo didn't have the cat ears that I made fun of so much. The lighting was dim, and they had to get off soon. I had Yuuki next to me, who was in a drinking contest with Angelica next to her, while Liz and Sinon placed bets on them. Argo was talking to Silica, about the game, and I was enjoying their company, not knowing if I would be able to tomorrow night. I checked my HUD, seeing the time 8:40. 'Well, I guess I have to tell them'.

"Hey, Argo" I said, interrupting her. "It's almost nine." She nodded.

"Hey, guys, we better logout soon, or someone will do it for us!" She said to the group. Angelica stood, with a triumphant smile.

"I win!" And then fainted. I looked at Liz.

"The game has an alcohol simulator, basically, all the effects of alcohol, except the addiction." I nodded. "Hey, Tryth" she continued, "Let me see your rapier, doesn't it need repairing by now?" I thought about it, and decided to give the thin blade to the Smith.

She took it out of the scabbard. "OH MY FUCKING GOD TRYTH! HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU LET IT GET THIS BAD?!" I looked at the blade, and saw the dents and nicks and notches. "ITS FUCKING DURABILITY IS AT FOUR OUT OF TWO THOUSAND! HOW IN THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE?!" She started smacking me with it, trying to teach me a lesson.

I laughed and said. "Quit that! You might break the blade!" I said, as I tried in vain to block her attacks against me with my sword. "Just repair it already!" She grumbled an equipped her smithing hammer, and tapped it a few times, repairing the durability. She handed it to me.

"If this sword's durability drops below two hundred, you will see me right away! I don't give a damn if you are in a boss room fighting for your life!" She commanded. After I agreed many times, she released the sword. She then hugged me, and everyone else and logged out. Silica followed her example, as did Sinon. I walked over to the unconscious Angelica, and using her hand, logged her out. Argo walked up to my, kissed me on the lips, whilst hugging me. "I cannot wait to get you back in the IRL." She said.

"I know, I cannot wait to get back to you" I said. She backed away, and logged out. I sat down, a sudden depression coming over me at her leaving. I sighed.

"I am guessing you too are in love" it took me a moment to realize Yuuki had spoken. I nodded.

"She is my wife IRL, we met in SAO, and she kept me from suiciding. I didn't tell you because I thought you would think it weird I was getting into the mushy details." I leaned back in the chair, and looked at the table, littered with dirty dishes, and the twenty or so mugs of whatever Yuuki and Angelica were drinking. "How come you aren't as affected as Angelica?" I asked.

"Wow, nice change of subject! I pretended to drink, but really dumped it on the floor." I grinned at her.

"Cheater" I said.

"Yup." She looked at the mess also. "I haven't told you everything either, but how about we get rooms first, then talk?"

My grin widened. "You mean, I get us rooms, then we talk"

"Yup, now go, my personal ATM!" She commanded. I sighed, and went to the bartender, paid for the meals, and was about to pay for two rooms, same as last time, but Yuuki appeared at my side, and changed it to one room with two beds. I changed it back, and she glared at me.

"Are you making a move on me?!" I said to her. "Oh my god! Yuuki! How could you!" I said with mock hurt. She glared more.

"This way it is cheaper, I am just trying to help!" She walked away in frustration. I smiled, and paid for the one room. I walked briskly past her, and up some wooden stairs, and into the assigned room. She followed, and saw the two beds. I sat on one, and ear the other.

"So" she said.

"So" I repeated.

"This is awkward."

"Yup"

We sat in silence. "You don't have to tell me" I said.

"Yes I do, you have been so nice. Ugh! It's just so damned hard to open up to people!" She said, pulling at her dark purple hair.

"I know, I have been there" I said. "You don't have to though"

"Stop saying that!" She commanded, and I obeyed.

"Yes ma'am"

We sat there for a few more minutes, the tension so thick, I could cut it with my rapier.

"Fuck this!" She yelled. "Fine, here goes something. When I was little, I was in a car crash, and almost died. I needed a blood transfusion, and the blood I got was contaminated with HIV." I gasped, and she nodded. "I don't have much longer, a year at most." I lowered my head mumbling condolences, but she interrupted, "Don't you dare apologize! I have learned to live life to the fullest! I played ALO, and I felt alive, until… until all of my friends died of various diseases…" she started to tear up. I stood up, walked over to her, and sat on her bed. I then lifted her from her spot, and placed her on my lap, where she dug her face in my shoulder. She sat there crying for about ten minutes. "Gods" she snuffled out. "You probably think I am some damned crybaby or something." I stroked her head soothingly.

"Nah, we all need someone to cry on. I am happy to help any friend, no matter what." Was my response. She buried her face back in my shoulder and cried again. I let her soak my shirt. After she stopped, she got off me.

"Thanks." She said.

"Anytime" I said. "You good?" I asked,

"Yeah" I stood, and walked over to my bed, and lay down, facing up. She lay down, and rolled over. After a few hours, I heard her snoring. Once I did, I stood, and walked out, towards a [Papa Imp] spawn point, because grinding releases stress.

I saw the first one, and drew my blade. I started the [Shining Blade] skill, and dashed at it, killing it in four strokes. Seven more spawned. I smirked mirthlessly, and charged, yelling while I sliced, "FUCK YOU," two down in seconds, "YOU GIVE ME ALL THIS DAMNED POWER!" Three more fell to my blade, and twenty more spawned. "AND I CANNOT HELP A FRIEND! FUCK YOU" I became a whirlwind of destruction, slicing, hacking, stabbing, and annihilating everything in my way. I saw a countdown timer in front of me, set to twenty minutes. I sat down at a tree, and cried to myself. "Why must I have so much power, but none that matters?" I asked aloud. I cried for a few minutes, and then walked back to the inn, through the forest.

Back in my bed, I felt the hopelessness well up inside me, the same feeling back when I first learned SAO was a Death Game. I then got an idea. I checked the time, saw it was almost midnight, but still, I tried my idea. I opened my friends list, and there, I saw all of them, and phone numbers under their names. I tapped one of them, and a keyboarded opened in for the of me.

To: Argo

Message: I want you to give me the phone number of your programmer friend, I want to talk to him.

I sent it, and lay there. 'I will talk to him, and see if he can make my [Shining Blade] skill copyable.' I looked at my roommate, 'and then she gets the first. 'That is the only thing I can do for her, other than be here, I can help her become stronger.' I lay back, at peace, and slept.


	49. Chapter 49-Invasion

**Thanks to Thunderwolf7226 for letting me bounce a few story ideas off of you!**

 **please review, and tell me just what you think of the story, so I can know if you like it, and I am doing good, or this sucks and I should really try harder.**

Yuuki had told me everything last night. Why she was stuck, and why she felt like she had to help me. I would not let her down. We stood, facing another of those [Imp's Enraged Pet]s, just the two of us. We looked at each other, and nodded. I took off towards the right, whilst she went to the left. It looked confused, in the middle of the clearing, not knowing which one of us would attack, or which it should attack. I had to slow down somewhat, to keep pace with her, and complete this flanking maneuver. I had Dark Slicer in hand, and was preparing to use [Howling Octave], while she would use two skills, [Vorpal Strike], which is a high damage one hit skill, and then [Seven Deadly Sins]. Her attacks would have a higher knock back, so therefore, it would turn towards me, and I would finish it with with a few skills of my own. 'Good thing I studied the skill list' I thought.

I turned sharply to the left, as she did to the right, now we were both headed right for it. My sword caught fire with the skill, and her blade turned yellow. She lunged just as I leapt to attack the face with my fire type executed the beginning perfectly, her attacks turning boss to face me, at which point I used an unfamiliar skill, [Quadruple Pain], which is a four hit darkness type skill that has a chance of paralysis, that was equal to my Crit chance, which was at thirty three percent. The boss fell, stunned, and we finished it off with basic skills.

After we finished with the boss, we slumped against a tree, laughing. Today was a Wednesday, the third day we tried to take on one of those things, and the first day we were successful. I took out a water skin from my inventory, and took a swig. After that, I passed it to her, and she nodded in appreciation. We sat there, and I opened my inventory to see what the boss gave me for the last attack bonus. There were two items, both blades. The first was a knife, eight inches long from tip of blade to the base of the blade, and had no handle guard, while a dark purple almost black leather was wrapped around the handle. I equipped it to my side, since this game allowed you to equip multiple weapons, and looked at the next. It was a broadsword, forged from black steel. Nothing special about it, other than its name was [Soul Sucker]. I opened an analysis window, and saw it had a special a special ability. "You gain one quarter health of the damage you deal", I read aloud. 'Damn' I took it out, and nearly dropped it from the weight. "Damn!" I said. "This thing is heavy! Here, you can have it!" I used both hands to give her the sword. She grasped it with one hand and stood, swinging it experimentally.

"I like this!" She unequipped her other blade, and but this one on her back, inside its scabbard. She came over, and I reached out my hand, asking for help up, and she obliged. She then kissed my cheek, saying "Thank you! I like my new toy!" I rubbed the spot where her lips touched me.

"Don't do that in front of Argo, she might get the wrong idea" I said.

"Don't do what in front of me?" I heard, and I turned to face my love. She was accompanied by the whole gang.

"There is a reason I told her that, so please know I am trying to protect your honor by not saying anything" I told her. She nodded.

"Fair enough."

"Holy shit!" Yelled Angelica, looking at the blade at Yuuki's waist. "Where in hell did you get that badass thing?" She demanded.

"Tryth gave it to me, we just faced the boss thingy a few minutes ago, before y'all arrived! It was part of the drop!" She tried to point at me. "He gave it to me!"

Angelica turned to me, a glare in her eyes. "And why did you not save it for your 'best friend'?" She demanded, advancing on me. "Why did you give it to her?"

"Because I knew we would be spending a lot more time together, and her level would far exceed yours!" 'Oh shit, wrong say'.

"Are you suggesting I am not as good as her? Me, who fought alongside you throughout SAO, and saved your ass a few times along the way?!"

"Nonononononooooooooo!" I said quickly.

"Choose your next words carefully." Said Yuuki and Angelica in unison.

'Oooohhhhh shit'. "Argo, please tell me you have something to say!" I said, up against a tree, with Angelica's face in my personal space.

"I am happy watching you get tormented!" She said, "But, sadly, all good things must come to an end." She walked over, her avatar's blonde hair swaying in the wind. "Here, open your menu, I am going to put in my programmer friend's contact info." I did as I was told and she fiddled with it.

"Thank you! I don't know how much longer before Angelica attacked me!" Liz, Sinon, Angelica, and Yuuki were cracking up at this.

"Scaredy cat!"

"Wuss!"

"What happened to the Tryth who can take on anything?!"

"You are soooo screwed later!"

When she was finished, I closed my menu…. just as a girl came running up. She didn't have a cursor over her head, so she was an npc. She was wearing a single white dress, that looked tattered form running through a forest. "You must help, brave fighters! The vikings have attacked my home village!" She ran up to me, as I was closest to her.

"Lead the way" I said without a second thought. She nodded, and I turned to Argo. "Find a lot more fighters, and use your friends list to find me." Argo nodded, and ran. I turned back to the girl. "Come on! Let's go!" And she ran, with Angelica, Liz, Silica, Yuuki, Sinon, and myself right behind her. We didn't come across any monsters along the way. I ran alongside the girl. "If I carry you on my crack, will you tell me the direction I need to go?" She nodded, and, while running, I picked her up, and put her on my back. I yelled over my shoulder. "I am going ahead and will hold them off until you guys get there!" They nodded, and I pelted at full speed, my Str stat just large enough to hold this girl with no exertion. She pointed, and I ran. The scenery changed to that of a coast, as I left the forest. Ahead of me, I could see a small fishing village. The only thing odd was that there was smoke coming from it. I put her down.

"Hey, I want you to run away from here, as fast as you can." She nodded, and went. I drew Dark Slicer. 'Let's do this'. I ran past wood huts towards the center. Once on the town square, I saw the village npc's all shoved into the center, chained together. Around them, were tall, wide men, with mail armour, and horned helmets. At the sound of my footsteps, they turned. One, the largest of the blonde men, stepped forward, and spoke in English.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "Why are you here?"

I switched languages as well, "My English is bad, speak Japanese?" I asked.

He cocked an eyebrow, so I spoke in my language, "This is Japanese".

He laughed, and switched as well, "Ahh, the language of the slaves!" I gritted my teeth.

"I will give you one chance!" I said, "Leave, or taste my steel!"

The leader translated for his comrades, and all of the, cracked up. "You? You have no armour, a terrible sword! We, we are soldiers of the All Father, Odin! Who are you to challenge us?!" He laughed.

"Me?" I asked, in a dangerously low voice. "I am the swordsman who killed the God of Aincrad, and the God of Alfheim, and lay waste to their lands, destroying everything in my way. I am the swordsman who killed thousands upon thousands warriors, much stronger and scarier than you, to save what I hold dear, so I ask you, who are you to try and stop me?"

He got a look of rage. "You better back up that talk with steel!"

I grinned. I gripped my blade, backhanded, and activated a subskill of [Shining Blade], called [Honor Bound]. My sword was coated in black energy as I plunged it into the ground. Then, a white line traced on the ground, forming a circle, entrapping the Viking Warlord in front of me with myself. "What kind of sorcery is this?!" He demanded, drawing his axe and shield.

"This will allow us to fight without your friends interfering." I said calmly. I stood erect, facing him, and brought the rapier to my face, perpendicular with the ground, parallel with my body, and then out to the right at a forty five degree angle, a challenge salute. I then crouched, my right side forward, rapier held a little ways in front of me, hand level with my hip, blade pointing away from me towards the sky, "As they say in America, come at me bro".


	50. Chapter 50-Skills

The night before, I had taken a peek at my skill list, and under [Shining Blade], I got a nice surprise. It had sub skills, which were basically whole separate skills, like the one I used with Kayaba back in ALO, [Shining Duo Hellstorm]. It read:

[Shining Duo Hellstorm] (active)

This is a skill that can only be used if you and one other person wield this skill. Stand back to back, and you will create a sphere, in which anything within will be struck with your blade.

[Power of Light] (passive)

Boosts your speed by fifty percent.

[Seal of Honor] (active)

Create a ring of light, that cannot be crossed until you or your target fall, defeated in battle.

[Bringer of Light](active)

Blind all who look at you. Activate by saying the name.

[Truth Above All](passive)

Decrease the cooldown for all (active) skills.

[Strength of Purity](passive)

If your level is higher than that of your enemy, and you strike their weapon, you have a chance to break their weapon equal to your crit chance.

[Unity of Light] (passive)

You can add the powers of one other skill into[Shining Blade], gaining the type of that skill, i.e., if you combine this skill with [Howling Octave], this becomes a fire type skill until you deactivate the skill.

This is all I found, but I knew these were new. 'Is this that gift Kayaba was talking about? Can my skill actually change with time?'

I stood before the Viking Warlord, crouched, sword away from me. He was tall, nearly seven feet, as were all of his comrades. He also looked like he was three hundred pounds of muscle, which, if he said that was true, I would believe him. In one hand, he wielded a two handed battle axe with one hand, and in the other, a massive wood shield. The large ring of light, the encased only him and I, was glowing with a cold light. I breathed slowly, preparing for a fight.

"Tryth? What in the name of hell are you doing?!" Interrupted my thoughts. I turned to face behind me, and I say my friends minus Argo come into the square. Yuuki was the one who spoke, calling to me.

"I sealed myself and him within this circle. The only way out is for one of us to die" I said simply.

"Idiot!" Said Liz. "You should have used that mouth of yours until we got here to clean up your mess!"

"Don't worry!" I said. "He isn't even a mini boss, I will be-" I was interrupted as something launched me to the side. I groaned, flat on my face. 'Okay, next time, do not take eyes off of Viking.' I stood, and faced him. He had his arms in the air, and his men were cheering.

"You are weak!" He said, "I barely slapped you!"

I raised my rapier. 'The time for words is over'. I lunged with a [Linear], and he blocked…. embedding the point of my sword in his shield. 'Oh shit'.

"Ooh, lookie! I caught a little birdy!" He said. He raised his axe, to slice at me while I tried to get my sword out of the oak shield.

"Bringer of light!" I yelled, and shut my eyes tight. I saw a brilliant light, and then opened them to see the Viking had released the oak shield. He was a few steps away, groaning and rubbing his eyes. I wiggled my sword, eventually getting it out of the shield.

"You little bastard!" I heard the bass voice of the Viking grunt, now looking at me. "You blinded me! I will kill you for this damned headache!" He lunged.

I dodged out of the way, barely. 'Now the power of my passive skills comes to light!' My speed was faster than that of my SAO avatar. I used a [Linear] to force him to stumble, and then decided to activate my [Unity of Light], combining two of my favorites, [Seven Deadly Sins], and [Shining Blade]. My sword glowed a dark purple, and I lunged. My blade went into him, through his mail. I then withdrew it, and sliced from his left shoulder to right hip and from right shoulder to left hip, and finished with four thrusts to the upper chest. Then I continued, now being able to use the power of [Seven Deadly Sins] for more than seven hits, slicing and hacking at his stumbling body. He then fell, and exploded in blue lights.

I stood, panting. 'Damn, these new skills take a lot out of me!' I thought. Then the white ring dissipated, and the Vikings stared at me. I stood erect, and shouted, "Drop your weapons, and we will not have to fight!, In English. They stood there, looking at each other. Then one of them stepped forward.

"We will not be scared of you, brat! If you want us to lose, you-" I rudely interrupted him with a [Vorpal Strike] to the neck, instant kill.

"Anyone else want to die?" I asked, my voice loud and commanding. Again, they looked at each other. One by one, they dropped their axes and swords and shields, and the knelt. I walked over to the chained townspeople, and sliced at their chains.

"Thank you, swordsman! How can we ever repay you?" Said this old man, labeled [Village Elder].

"No payment necessary." I said, about to walk away, but I turned back to him. "Tie the Vikings up with anything you can find, also, which direction did they come from?" I asked.

He pointed down the coast, around a bend obscured by trees. "That way. Stay, for a feast in your honor!" He said, as his men tied up the behemoths.

"No, I must go." I said.

"Then take our townspeople's most treasured relic, as a sign of our gratitude!" He walked off to the town hall, leaving me for a moment. He returned with something long wrapped in a tattered black cloth. It was five feet at least in length. "This is a sword, captured from the forces of darkness years ago. It's true power can only be unlocked by the Chosen One, whom I believe is you, swordsman." He knelt, and offered the wrapped item to me. "Please take this"

I unwrapped it, to reveal a black longsword. The hilt looked like two dragons chasing each other. The dragons had ruby eyes, and seemed to stare at me as I grasped the blade. It was surprising lay light, not heavy at all. I saw a window pop up.

"You have received the weapon, [Shadow Repear]."

"You have received the skill, [Morph]" I looked at [Morph]'s description, "This skill allows you to change the weapon you are holding into another. For example, if you wield a knife, you can change it into a lance" I blinked rapidly at the window. 'Wow, that is strong'.

"Thank you for your kindness" I said. "I will be on my way now, to rid these lands of those intruders."

"We thank you for your deeds. You have earned that sword." He stood.

I turned to my friends. "So, let's go. We still have some Vikings to kill!" I said to them, and turned, walking in the direction the village elder pointed. They caught up.

"Hey, that looked like a Str type sword, can I have it?" Asked Angelica.

"Nope" I said.

"Isn't it heavy?" Asked Yuuki. "It looked heavy!"

"Nope" I repeated. "It was really light."

"I doubt it!" Back to Angelica. I turned towards her, and handed her the blade. As soon as it left my hands, she fell over, still holding it. "Holy shit! How the hell did you hold this?!" She was trying to pick it up off the ground.

I reached down, and grasped it, putting it on a sheath on my back with ease. "No idea" I said truthfully, confusion written all over my features.

"My turn!" Said Yuuki. I sighed, and drew the black blade, and handed it to her, with the same result. "Holy shit!" She repeated my other friend.

I bent down, and picked it up, no problem. "Maybe y'all are just weak!" Said Liz, reaching out for the offending blade.

"Are you sure?" I said. "Their Str stats are higher than your and mine combined" she nodded, and I gave her the sword, and she fell on her back, unable to get up from the oppressive weight. I laughed as I took it back, sheathing it on my back.

"Didn't that village elder say that only the Chosen One can wield it?" Asked Sinon.

"That's just something MMORPG's say"said Liz. "It's bullshit."

I was walking away and called over my shoulder, "Then why can I hold something you cannot?" I heard her indignant scream. I laughed aloud.


	51. Chapter 51-Viking Killer

**thanks to all of my supporters! Namely:**

 **"Thunderwolf7226"**

 **"FailtasticBelt"**

 **"eren jeager 1st"**

 **"TheRealPower"**

 **and, "Gashadokuro Amanojaku"**

We stood in the shadow of the trees, obscured from what we were watching. There was a Viking galley, with about ten of the invaders aboard. 'How did they get so many people here?' I thought to myself. 'That is a small ship for thirty people!' I turned in the darkness towards my companions. "Okay, Sinon, we need your sniping skills right here. Silica, Liz, protect her from any threats, Angelica, Yuuki, and I will go and raid these things." Everyone nodded, except the pink haired smith.

"Why do you two get the fun job? Besides, you don't need to worry about us, we will respawn when we die, so, we should all just run up, and slaughter them!" 'I have to admit, her argument is very logical.'. I sighed, and nodded, relenting.

"But I go first, I have a Stealth Skill, and high speed, so I can cause a distraction aboard the ship, and keep them from going out to sea before you guys get there."

"Damn, I hate it when you're smarter than me!" She said, pouting. I stood, and activated my skill, and dashed out of cover, hoping they had little to no observing skills, or anything like that. I ran up to the hull, and up the ropes along the side. Once up, I deactivated my Stealth.

I tried English, "Hey, you furry bastards! I am sure your mothers look just like you!" I shouted, hoping I got their attention. I learned from an American movie that you should never insult their mothers, as they will get really really mad. And when warriors were angry, they made mistakes…. which meant that I could possibly single handedly take on this whole crew. They all turned and faced me.

"You insulted mommy!" One shouted, and ran to a barrel placed on the other side of the ship, grabbing a claymore sword. "You will die!" He started running at me. As he ran, I drew the new sword, and felt its weight. At the last second, I sidestepped his thrust, and used a [Slant] on his face, and spinning behind him, finishing him with a [Horizontal] skill, making him burst into polygons.

"You killed Jeff!" One shouted, "let's get 'em!" They all got swords, and encircled me. I smiled. 'Come at me' I thought, with a smirk. They were closing in slowly. I jumped high, backflipping, and right when I landed, shoving my black sword into the planks. The skill is called [Lightning Fall]. When my sword touched the planks, lightning shot in all directions, shoving them back. I stood up, watching the smoking Vikings roll over, grunting in pain. I walked up to each one, and finished him with an easy skill, like [Vertical]. Then, my friends came up the ramp, gawking.

"Holy shit" said Liz. "How did you do that?" She demanded.

"Yeah!" Said Yuuki. "How did you do that?!" I was going to answer them, but I saw movement out the corner of my eye, and I looked to it, seeing about thirty players, lead by Argo.

"Little late!" I said, jumping off the galley onto the soft sand. "What took you so long?"

"Nobody believed me when I told them that the Vikings invaded." Said ,y cloaked wife, walking up to me, "Besides, it looks like you got it done alone". I hugged her, and she returned the embrace.

"Well, here" I said, at a loss for an explanation, I let go of her, and drew my black sword, called [Shadow Reaper], which I really liked, and held it up for her to see. She reached for it, but I pulled it away an inch, causing her to stop. "Yuuki, Liz, and Angelica tried to carry it, but they couldn't. Somehow, this sword has increased my raw attack, speed, and pretty much all of my stats at least tenfold." She nodded, understanding. "People, I took on the Viking raiding party. We will have smiths analyzing the galley, and trying to build one so we can raid their lands!" They looked dumbfounded.

"How can you have taken them?" Someone demanded, stepping forward. He had light chain mail armour, a hard set jaw, and dirty blonde hair. "I a, the best fighter in the game, and I can barely take on one of them! We met a few on our way up here, so, how can you take on the whole party?" At his waist, he had a standard steel longsword, and a small iron plated shield on his back.

I sighed, drawing my black sword. I held it out for Argo to grasp. "I give you permission to hold this" I said, and she grabbed it… and didn't fall over. 'So I have to give them permission…. okay….' I stored that info in the back of my mind for later. "Hey, Argo. Can I borrow a knife?" I asked the cloaked figure at my side. She nodded.

"Of course." She took a knife out of a sheath on her leg, and handed it to me. "You said no one else could carry this, how can I? Ooooohhhh, they need permission… okay, never mind." She got it quickly. Thankfully, she didn't say this that loud, so only I could hear her. I stood, about fifty feet from the man who spoke earlier. The people behind him stood uneasily, as though very few of them wanted a pvp fight.

"Which of you were from Sword Art Online" I said to the mob.

"Don't you dare ignore me!" Said the blonde.

A few hands raised. I ignored him further. "Before I kick this guy's ass, you should know… I am Tryth the Shadow Reaper." The crowd gasped.

"What the hell kind of name is that?" The blonde demanded. "'Shadow Reaper'? Don't make me-"

"Shut the hell up now" I commanded in a booming voice.

"Make me" he growled. I sighed. Opening my menu, I sent a duel request. Down to the last health point, but no further. He grinned. "Now you are speaking my language! How quickly do you want me to wup you?" He said.

"You are all talk and no bite." I directed the next part to the crowd. "I will put five thousand… no, five million gold on my wining with one sword skill" the crowd gasped.

"I will take that bet!"

"Dumbass! That is the Shadow Reaper! He took on Kayaba and survived!"

"I heard he used one skill to take out Kayaba"

"I heard that Kayaba surrendered before the fight began"

People kept moving the date of my victory back until someone said that I fought the God of Aincrad on the first day of SAO Death Game, and beat him then, but was forced for a rematch later. I stood facing him.

"You have a deal!" He said, and then he charged at me. At the last second, to guarantee that he would be unable to react, I moved around him, and behind him, and then used a sword skill with a knife. I activated [Vorpal Strike], and stabbed the back of his neck with my now glowing yellow blade, bringing his health down to one point. He stumbled from the force of the attack, and fell over. I landed gracefully on my feet.

I walked over to Argo, and gave her back the knife, as she handed me my sword. I sheathed the large blade on my back with a flourish, and started walking away. "I won't even collect my five mil" I said over my shoulder. My friends followed without a word. We exchanged promises to meet the next day, and most of them logged out.

Now it was just me and Yuuki. We both wearily walked up to the room I paid for earlier, and plopped on our own beds.

"How could Argo carry the sword while I couldn't?" Asked the girl.

"I are to verbally say that you are allowed to" I replied. I unequipped my sword and placed it in my inventory.

"How did you take him out with just [Vorpal Strike]?"

"Because the my new sword has the ability to severely up my stats, and I was testing to see if I needed the blade equipped to use that ability, and I learned that I don't." I heard her shift.

I then felt her sit in my bed, and curled up next to me, pressed against me. I gave a warning grunt. "Don't tempt me to cheat on Argo" I said.

"I'm not, you...are...just…...so….warm" and next, she was snoring. I moved my head and looked at the peacefully sleeping figure. I was assailed by a sudden wave of depression, knowing that she would not live too long. 'Holy shit, she is in love with me too' I suddenly thought. 'Damn, and if I lead her on, then she will be heartbroken, if I just cold shoulder her, we will both lose each other as a friend. This will be tough.' I sighed aloud. 'Well, I have something to do.' I thought. I sat up carefully, not disturbing her prone figure, and opened my PM window. I saw only one name I did not recognize in my contacts, and I sent it a message.

To: Kazuto Kirigaya

Message: This is Tryn, Argo's husband. I was wondering if you could write a program that enabled me to duplicate a unique skill

I sent the message, and layed back down, and fell asleep thinking about how I could save my dying friend.

 **Let the hate mail begin!**


	52. Chapter 52-Angelica VS Tryth

**Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was really ill. I tried slowing the story down, tell me what you think!**

It is now Friday. Yuuki and I were both level seventeen, and were currently outside, at the beach where we found the Viking galley after the raid. There were about seventy players behind me, and they were all staring at the same thing, not the Viking galley, but the perfect replica beside it. It was three hundred feet long, and thirty abreast at its widest. It had one sail upon a mast in the center, and many oars on each side. Liz and about ten other smiths stood, admiring their handiwork. This one was the same height, of about fifteen feet tall, allowing for a storage hold beneath the deck. Overall, using both ships, we could sail all the people who showed up to see the ship, and then some easily. We still have no idea how over sixty Vikings made it across in one vessel, but, forty per boat should be okay. The smell of sea salt filled the air as the group marveled at the boat the smiths made. The marveling was interrupted by the guy whose ass I wiped a few days ago.

"Wow, took you long enough" he said, strutting forward. "I am sure any of us could have built that thing quicker!"

"Shut up Brian!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

"No, I have a right to speak!" He said, a cocky smile on his face.

I grumbled in my mind. "There is no need to be hating on the people trying to help out" I said calmly.

"Oh, it's you" he said, with a sneer. I resisted the urge to pound his face in. "You should be on my side!"

"No. I should be on their side" I gestured to Liz. "And if you insult them again-"

"You will do what?" He said, wagging a finger in the air. "PK me?"

"Yes. Yes I will" I said with a straight face.

His smirk deepened. "Oh look, your champion had no problem killing one of his own!" He laughed aloud.

"No, you see, Liz is one of my own. So is Yuuki, and Angelica. You, you are not one of my own, in fact I seriously doubt you are even human." I turned away from him. "By the way, next time you decide to speak out, don't sound like a total dumbass in the first process, okay?" I was about to speak to Liz, but I heard a yelling sound behind me, and the sound of feet running. I smiled. 'So that is how it is'. I backflipped… right over the man named Brian. I then, as he tried to stop running, and turn to face me, I planted my foot firmly on his backside, pushing him to the ground. The mob laughed at this, me knocking him over without the need of a weapon.

"That is why I love being an Agi type" I said, walking over him. "So Liz, can we set sail today?" I asked her.

The pink haired smith blinked several times before realizing that I spoke. "Oh, umm, yeah we can, but, is everyone ready….?" She asked.

I turned, and addressed the crowd. "People! You have one hour to upgrade your weapons, repair them, grind, whatever you want!" I checked my HUD, seeing it was one pm, "At two, we will set sail for the Nordic lands! I strongly recommend Liz as your Smith by the way, best I have ever seen!" I looked at her, and saw her face red from the public praise.

"Who gave you the right to boss us around?" Demanded the stubborn Brian.

"Anyone who is okay with Tryth being leader, raise your hand!" Shouted Yuuki. One by one, hands went up until it was unanimous. "It seems we give him that right!" She said to Brian.

"What did I miss?" Asked Argo running up. She gawked at the ship. "Did you build that?" She asked Liz.

"Yes, well, we did" she gestured to the other ten smiths.

"Yeah, we are leaving at two pm. Glad you could come." I said, hugging her. Then I noticed her companion. He was medium height, with black hair and eyes, and matching clothes. His screen name was Kirito. "Who is this?" I asked.

"This is my programming friend, Kazuto. He is going to fiddle with your menu and try and copy your skill" she replied. I held out my hand, and shook his outstretched one.

"Hello, Kirito. My real name is-" I started, but he interrupted.

"Oh, yes. I have heard about you Tryn. 'Tryn, the wonder boyfriend', 'Tryn the magnificent Husband' and so on. I can't name a meeting with Argo where she hasn't said your name." I blushed slightly.

"Well, I am just… a guy trying to survive, nothing special" I said.

"And that is what makes you special, but, more of that later. Let me see your Skill".

"Like, using it or my menu?" I asked.

"Menu" he confirmed, and I opened it, and turned it for him to look. He swiped a few times, tapped a few times, and eventually grunted. "It will be hard, it I think I can do it". I nodded to him.

"I would greatly appreciate it." I turned back towards my friends, "So, we have an hour to kill, what should we do?"

They mused for a second. Then Angelica brightened up, "How about you and I fight, to finally see who is better?!"

I grimaced. "Well…. I wouldn't recommend that…."

"Oh come on!" Said Liz. "She is always talking smack about you behind your back, just kick her ass and be done with it!" She gestured for me to continue.

"Yeah" said the normally timid Silica, "She is always saying that she is so much better than you and that the only reason Kayaba beat her was a lucky hit! Please beat her, it is so annoying!"

I blinked. "Wow, I almost forgot you were here, sorry Silica." Then I faced Angelica. "If Silica is annoyed, then I guess I better help her out"

"Well, first off, I do not brag about how much better I am-"

"Bullshit" said Liz.

"Bull-crap" said Silica at the same time.

"Whatever!" Angelica finished. "Can we go back to picking on Tryth?!".

"Nope, Tryth-kun is off limits"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Please stop calling me kun!" I said to Liz.

"Nope" was her reply. "I am surprised that I am the only one who does though…."

"Let's get to the ass kicking!" Said Yuuki. "Ten million on Tryth!" She then came over to me and whispered, "If you lose, I am going to need ten million gold." I laughed as she backed away.

"I won't lose" I said looking over my shoulder to her.

Angelica nad I stood about fifty feet away from each other. She drew both of her longswords, and me my Shadow Reaper. "No [Shining Blade] she said.

"No dual wield" I countered.

"Okay, fine, you can use that damned skill" was her reply.

I sent her the duel request, and she accepted. It was first to one health point. We circled each other, crouched low. We stared at each other's sword, then face, then hands, then body, then legs as we searched for some sign that the opponent was going to make the first move.

"Just so you know, you letting me use my unique skill was the worst thing you could have done" I said.

"Why would that be?" She said, concentration not broken.

"Because I have a lot of really awesome sub skills that will destroy your swords, so I either recommend using different blades, or be really, really good at dodging."

She got a little annoyed at my taunt. "No need, I will take you out with one skill!" She rushed at me.

Her blades glowed blue. She yelled as she ran, and I blocked with [Shining Blade] activated. She swung, and I blocked, and she swung, and I blocked. She attacked a total of sixteen times.

"...how….in…..the….hell?" She said, panting slightly.

"My turn" I said. I lunged, and she dodged...barely. I sliced at her, and she used her dual wielding [Cross Block] skill to keep from taking damage. I smirked. Sure, my Str was mediocre, but my blade upped everything, so, it probably felt like a horse just ran into her swords. I then backflipped out of her range, so she couldn't counter attack.

"Damn, that wasn't too shabby" she said. "Eat this!" She ran at me, and did a series of one handed sword skills, each of which I dodged without trouble. Before she got out of my range, she suffered a [Horizontal] to the side, taking her health down by about a sixth. She then then got out of the way. "Wow, that was strong for a basic skill"

"How about I end this in one hit" I said. 'Please be as simple as I hope' I thought to myself. 'Please, oh god, I hope changing what my swords farm is is simple, I cannot live with her bragging that she beat me in a fight'.

"Good luck" she prepared to brace.

"Item command!" I stated, "Item ID, Shadow Reaper! Command, Morph, new form, rapier!" Just as I hoped, my blade started changing… into a black rapier. The hand guard was a dragon with ruby eyes, and the blade only an inch at its widest, and nearly five and a half feet long. I grinned. 'Awesome!' Then, I turned around away from Angelica, and ran about two hundred feet.

"What are you doing?" She yelled.

"Just wait!" I said. I stood, and breathed in deeply, preparing for this. 'I haven't used this skill before…. but, my [Shining Blade] should make it easier.' I thought. I exhaled. I faced her. I ran towards her, putting on the speed as much as I could. I dashed towards her, and then raised my rapier, pointed right at her crossed swords, glowing with her blocking skill. Then, I lept forward, still about a hundred feet from her, and then… I felt it. I felt myself accelerating at breakneck speed, and my body went level. Normally, my sword would be glowing blue with [Flashing Penetrator], but my unique skill sucked up its abilities, and refined it. I rocketed forward, towards her. She knew that the [Flashing Penetrator] couldn't hurt her, but this isn't [Flashing Penetrator]. The tip of my blade touched hers… and her first sword shattered. Her eyes opened wide as I kept going, life was in slow motion. My rapier touched her other longsword, and it too exploded in blue polygons. I kept going. My sword touched the center of her chest, and I stopped moving, and she was rocketed back, life at one point.

I put my feet on the ground, sheathed the rapier on my side, and walked over to her body laying on the ground. Her eyes were still wide open, in shock. "How in the hell…" she started.

"Basically, I can destroy anyone's sword I cross" I said, and reached my hand out to help her up.


	53. Chapter 53-At Sea

**thanks again to all reviewers!**

And less than an hour later, we were all in front of the ships. I hate public speaking, and the idea of leading such a large group of people, but Argo had bullied me into the position. I stood on one of the ships, looking down at the people who were staring back at me. 'Damn, I feel like I should say something inspiring' I thought to myself, 'but I cannot think of anything to say. Well, here goes something'.

"People of the Human Race. We have had the Viking nation declare war against us. They attacked our sacred land, and killed our people. We will now go, and take them, take their land from them, show them how it feels to be victim to a more powerful foe. Yes, they were stronger than us, but, we are the hunters now. We will attack, and be victorious, and then move on to the next challenge, head on!" This elicited a cheer from the group of assembled people. "Now, get into two groups of somewhat equal amounts of people, we will board, and set sail." They did as I commanded. I turned to Angelica. "You are going to be on the other ship, the captain of it, keeping order and making sure no one does anything stupid" she nodded. I turned towards Sinon. "You will be on this ship, as it will be ahead of the other. You will be in the crow's nest, keeping an eye on the horizon to find enemies and their land." Now to Liz. "Split the smiths into two groups, one group on each ship. Obviously, I want my favorite smith on this ship' she nodded, and ran off. "Yuuki. You will be here. If we are attacked, this ship will be boarded first, and I will need you to help defend it. Now, Argo. I need you to be everywhere at once if you get what I mean. I want to know what everyone is thinking before they know it." Argo grinned sadistically.

"Oh yeah" she said when I basically gave her the job she does best.

"Don't go overboard". Was my response.

"Literally, or metaphorically?" She asked.

"Just go!" I said. She ran off, sniggering. I sighed, 'what am I going to do with her' I thought.

"What about me?" Asked a little voice. I looked at Silica, the owner of the voice. She seemed a little down at not being given a job.

"I thought that was obvious!" I said lively, "I need my best fighters on this ship!" She brightened up at my words.

"You think I am a good fighter?" She asked hopefully.

"Well, duh!" Was my response. "Besides, you are a mage, and you specialize in ranged magic. If anyone comes near, you can give them a load of badass-Silica-style-fireballs!" I held out my hand for a high five, and she jumped up, clapping my hand. I grinned as she passed. 'Phew, I dodged a bullet there'. I shook my head, clearing it to think of the mission ahead. Once everyone was up the plank onto the ship, a window appeared in front of us all, saying:

"Spawn point set".

'Good' I thought, 'this means that when they log in tomorrow, they will spawn on the ship'. "Okay, I need fifteen people on each side with sizable Str stats, manning the oars!" People shuffled to either side, and sat on the benches. Yuuki got off the ship, and pushed it off the sand and out to sea, and Angelica did the same to the other ship. As soon as the boat was entirely in the water, the single sail unfurled, startling Sinon on top, and filled with air, propelling us forward. I stumbled as the motion took over, and the oarsmen looked at me expectantly. "Well" I said. "I guess we don't need to row. Okay, everyone, you are going to be assigned to a person who will be your commander. This commander will give you your orders." I also sent that as a pm to Angelica, and she sent back "affirmative".

After assigning everyone in groups of seven, there being twelve groups, eleven with seven each, and another with three, and then I added the commanders to my contact list. The commanders were my friends, and some people Argo said I could trust.

"Now, you can log out. It will take a while for us to arrive at the shores of our enemy" they nodded, and logged out one by one until it was just me and Yuuki on this ship, and Argo on the other.

"Hey, Yuuki." I called to the girl. She walked over, and saluted. "No need for that! Just tell me, do you think you can throw me to the other ship?" I asked.

"No need, Argo told me that it will follow this one. I have no idea why, but it will. In fact, I think she just logged out" I looked to the galley trailing behind us, and saw that it was empty. 'Well, yeah. It is getting dark' I checked my HUD and saw the time was 7:57. I opened my menu, and using my messaging stone thingy, sent her, "Hey, sweet dreams". I then opened my inventory, and brought out a sleeping bag. The rocking of the ship wasn't that bad, so, we could handle it easily.

"Sorry, I did not bring another…" I said, chiding myself.

"No need! That just means I get to sleep with you again!" She said, too enthusiastically.

"Uuummmm, now I feel very uncomfortable" I said.

"No prob! I am not trying to steal you from Argo, I a, trying to show you that I care bayous you, since, well, you are my only friend…" then, when she exhaled, I saw the steam her breath was making. 'Oh great, it is getting cold'. Since I have been in the game,I realized I feel things just like I do IRL, like cold, heat, and pain. Especially pain. I handed her the sleeping bag.

"Thanks" she mumbled, unfurling it. I then opened my menu, and pulled out a bottle of a slime, and smeared it on the deck, in about a four foot diameter circle, "what is that for?" She questioned. I smiled, and didn't answer, instead, got some logs from my menu, and some flint and steel, and lit the logs. Her eyes opened wide. "Dumbass! This ship is made of wood!" But before she could kick out the heat source, I stopped her.

"Don't. The wax I placed on the ground isn't flammable. It will keep the ship's planks from burning. We are safe, I am not as stupid as some people think"

"Oooooohhhhh" she said. "That makes sense then" she curled up in the bag. "Are you sure you don't want to snuggle?" She asked.

I sighed. "I don't trust myself" I said, staring into the flames. "Besides, there are some things I need to think about for a while."

"Okay, your loss" was her answer. After a few minutes, I heard her breathing slow.

A few hours earlier, while Argo was on their boat (somehow she could go from one to the other without anyone noticing), she pulled Yuuki aside as she was yelling at some people for trying to throw another overboard. When they went to a corner where they could not be heard over the ruckus the passengers were making, Argo had spoken. "Hey. Please take good care of Tryth. I know you probably are, but after what I have to tell you, you will realize what he is going through." And then the weary girl sighed. "I found out his Pain Absorber is turned off. If he gets hurt, it will feel like IRL"

This hit Yuuki like a deadpan. "You mean that he has been fighting this whole time, feeling everything?" Argo nodded.

"I found out when I added my friend to his contacts. I scrolled through his menu on a hunch, and saw that it was set to off, and that no one, not even he, could change it"

"Damn. Now I feel sorry for him. Well, more sorry than I did" the purple haired girl sat down, absorbing what the Rat told her.

"I am going to regret this later, but, we are going north, so it is going to get cold, I want you to make sure he doesn't die from the cold. Or die from anything. That is your job, okay? Girl to girl" the info broker said.

'She is entrusting me with her boyfriend's life? Why?' Thought Yuuki. As though she could read minds, Argo answered this, "He trusts you, and if he trusts you, I trust you. Can you do that for me?"

Yuuki felt the weight of what Argo was asking settle down on her. "Yes, I think I can" she said. 'At least, I hope so' but she didn't say this aloud.

"Thank you!" Argo tackled her unexpectedly. "Thanks you so much! I am counting on you!" And then the Rat stood. Yuuki got up, but when she looked up to speak again, Argo was gone. Yuuki looked at the other ship and saw her cloaked figure, listening to what happened.

As Yuuki lay by the fire, she thought about what Argo had told her. Then, she rolled over, facing the back of Tryth. He opened his menu, and saw that he didn't have any more wood besides the one he was throwing on the fire now. She sighed aloud.

"Something wrong?" Asked Tryth.

Yuuki stood up, out of the sleeping bag, and pointed to it. "In the bag, now!" She commanded. He blinked, and opened his mouth to argue. "Shut up, and get in the bag!" She pointed at the bag again. "Don't make me make you!"

"Fine" he sighed, and climbed into the bag, facing the fire. She climbed in, facing the opposite direction, so they were back to back. The warmth spread over both their bodies.

'I hope Argo understands' thought Yuuki.

'I hope Argo doesn't kill me' thought Tryth.

 **Yes, that was supposed to be a little comedic.**


	54. Chapter 54-Death is only the Beggining

**this chapter is dedicated to Yuuki, who I always wanted to survive. Please enjoy.**

It is now Saturday. I woke slowly, still wanting to sleep, but knowing that people will be spawning on the boat at some point, and it cannot do for them to see me like this. I, without sitting up, opened my eyes, and saw a pair of dark green boots…. that were attached to a pair of dark green pants that were obscured by a dark green cloak. I looked up at the whispered face of the Rat. She looked down upon me with an expression that seemed a mix between satisfaction, and annoyance.

"It's not what it looks like" I squeaked. At the sound of my voice, Yuuki started to wake.

"Huh?" Was her oh-so-intelligent greeting.

"Yes, Tryth, it is exactly what it looks like" she said, stepping over me. "It looks like two good friends huddled together for warmth on a cold night, which, I have no problem with." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Be glad that I found you and not Liz." I stood up and, after Yuuki, who decided to remain out of the conversation, got off the bag, I put it back in my inventory.

"Hmm" Argo squatted by the ashes of the fire, and placed her hand against the planks next to it, feeling the sticky wood. "Good idea to spread the wax on the wood before lighting a fire, but, I knew that you wouldn't last the night without something more, or a lot of wood to burn, so I asked Yuuki here to do whatever she can to keep you alive." I felt a mix of emotions towards my spouse. The first being gratitude and pride, the last being a rush of indignation.

"I am not a three year old!" I pouted. Both girls exchanged a knowing look and laughed at the look on my face.

"Hey, I really don't care what happens, as long as you are kept alive, and it does nothing to ruin our connection" she said, still chuckling.

I sighed. 'Women' I thought. 'At least she is understanding'.

"Okay, Argo, do you know how much longer before we reach wherever it is we are going?" I asked her.

"Yup, about two hours. At which point, I recommend waiting for the rest of the players to spawn, before attacking." She said, "but then again, the Vikings are not idiots, and will probably have lookouts, so when we hit shore, you and Yuuki might have to do some fancy swordplay to keep the, busy."

"Tryth and I can take anything, as long as we are back to back!" Yuuki quipped. I sighed again, this time rolling my eyes.

"That's just because of my super awesome unique skill" I said.

"Yeah, pretty much" she admitted.

I heard the sound of something spawning behind me, and I turned to see Kazuto. "Hey Tryth" was his greeting.

I shook his outstretched hand, gripping it tightly, knowing the reason of his visit. "How did you spawn here?" I asked.

"Trade secrets" he winked, and then started fiddling with his menu. "I could only duplicate it once, and then a virus kept me from doing more, and it locked up, firewalls everywhere. I tried everything, from rewriting the program, to rebooting the whole damned computer. Here" he handed me a crystal, this one white like a diamond. "If you equip this to a player, they will receive the skill, but the item will be destroyed. It is nontransferable." I nodded my gratitude.

"Can someone explain what is going on?" Asked Yuuki. "I hate being in the damned dark!" I turned to her.

"Yuuki. I asked Kazuto here to duplicate my unique skill." Her eyes opened wide, "and he did so, in this crystal. Equip it, I am guessing to your sword" I handed her the item. She took it with trembling hands, and drew her broadsword from her back, and placed the gem at the junction where the guard, blade, and hilt meet. There was a bright light, and the gem disappeared. A window opened in front of her.

"You have gained the skill [Shining Blade]" it said.

"Glad I could be of service, I am out of here!" Said the programmer, and he logged out.

"Wow. Thanks Tryth!" Breathed Yuuki. She then tackled me in a hug, nearly dropping my HP from the force.

"Can't…..breathe!" I choked out.

"Sorry" she let go.

"Hey, umm, Tryth? Can I speak to you privately while Yuuki marvels at her new skill?" Asked the Rat. She grabbed my arm, and we teleported.

We were on the other boat, trailing the first. I saw Yuuki swing her sword, figuring out how [Shining Blade] works.

"What up?" I asked her.

She nervously stared at her boots. "Well, before he died for the last time, Kayaba sent me an email… I read it, and it told me to give this to you" she dug in a pocket, and brought out a ring. 'What is this?' I thought, but she continued. "It came as an attachment to the email" I took it from her. It's name was [MindScanner]. "The email said that Yuuki doesn't have long to live. From today, Kayaba guessed that she has two weeks left." I gasped at this, but I let her continue. "He said she is hooked up to something called the Medicuboid. It is like the NerveGear in most aspects, except that it is really large and has a life support system." Her next words were what hit the hardest. "He said that in this ring, is the program that he used to download his mind onto the web, and that we should use it on Yuuki. He said it will download straight to your NerveGear." My eyes snapped to the girl, practicing her skill.

"Okay." I said. "I want to tell her." Argo nodded. I felt a single tear fall from my eye. 'He is basically telling us to kill our friend. But, if it is to spare her, then I guess I have little choice.' "Teleport me" I commanded, and the blonde avatar that represented Argo complied.

I spawned behind her, and she turned, startled by the abrupt noise. "Hey. Tryth? What's wrong?" She asked, sheathing her blade against her back.

I wrapped her in a loose hug. "I have been told you have about two weeks to live" I said. "I really don't want to do this, but the only way to save you,is to kill you" she backed away, a questioning look in her eyes.

"What do you mean, that the only way to save me is to kill me?" She asked, not understanding.

I held up the ring. "This will download your consciousness onto my NerveGear. It will kill your body in the process" I explained, a tear running down my cheek.

"Will… will I be changed at all?" She asked.

"I don't think so, other than the ability to do math wicked fast and your own google searches, I don't think so" I tried to lighten the mood with a bad joke.

"Then let's do it!" She snatched the ring. "If it means spending more time with you, my only friend, then I will gladly die" she slipped the ring on a finger, and we all held our breath.

A window popped up in front of me, saying:

"Downloading, 1% complete" and it was going up. I looked at her, and saw a tear sliding down her face. I must have been crying too, because she said, "Don't cry. This won't do anything! Besides, you are supposed to be the strong one!"

"I am supposed to swing a sword, I have Argo for emotional strength." I said, wiping my face on my black sleeve.

"Download complete" said the window, and then Yuuki collapsed. I caught her right before she hit the deck.

"Yuuki!" I exclaimed. "Yuuki! Please be okay!"

"Unn" came her oh-so-intelligent reply.

"Yuuki!" I said, a little relieved.

"Sorry, I had to tell the doctors that I was okay, that I am not in my body anymore" she said weakly. "Damn, I feel sooo different" I wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Thank gods!"

I heard the sound of people spawning.

"Can someone explain what the hell is going on?" Demanded Liz. "Cuz I wanna be hugged by Tryth-kun too!"

I let go of Yuuki, and burst into laughter.


	55. Chapter 55-The Weekend

**I am dedicating this chapter and the next to Failtastic Belt.**

I received a private message as I was trying to keep some people from ripping each other's throats out. It read:

Sender: Sinon

Message: "I see land"

I sighed. 'Well, this hellhole of a journey is finally coming to an end'. I thought. I [Sonic Leap]ed from the deck onto the crow's nest with Sinon. Up here, the smell of salt wasn't as strong, and the wind blew the sweat of anticipation from my face, the lookout spot was a little cramped though, considering it was made for one person. We and I were nearly pressed against each other. I backed up, standing on the rim of the little lookout, neatly balanced.

"If I had known I would have gotten such a rapid response from you, I wouldn't have sent anything" she said.

I groaned. "I hate being in charge. From now on, I am leaving that to Argo!" She laughed.

"I saw the idiots who wanted to duel. I think you handled that well, drawing your sword and threatening to kill the both of them."

"Don't tease, I was annoyed. Now, where is this land"

"Right behind you" she replied.

I craned my neck around. What I saw was an icy land, covered in white and light blue with a forest a few hundred meters from the coast. The beach was covered in ice and snow. "Damn, what is this, winter?" I asked.

"Nope, summer here". She quipped.

"Man, I almost wish there was someone around so you would shut up!"

"Well, since it is just you and I…."

"Now you sound like Liz" I groaned.

I hopped off the lookout nest, and back onto the deck. Everyone was yelling at each other for some reason or other. I sighed. 'This will not due'. "SHUT UP," I roared. Everyone obeyed. "Thank you, now I can hear myself think." I gathered my thoughts. "Okay. We are about thirty minutes from the coast. Once we hit land, your commander will take your squad out for scouting. You will go out for an hour, and return by the end of that hour. Do you understand?" It wasn't a question, it was more like 'if you don't understand I will throw you overboard'. They got the hint and didn't say anything.

I left them to do whatever while I gathered my commanders to help scout. "You are each going to go in a separate direction." I told them. "Please keep your squad from killing each other, I cannot stand this much longer." They nodded.

"What about you?" Asked Liz.

"Argo and I, having the highest Agi and Stealth stats here, will be gone for a lot longer than an hour. "Angelica, Yuuki, you two are in charge."

"Got it"

"Yup"

"So...you and Argo are going to have a romantic time out, Tryth-kun?" Asked the pink haired smith.

"One more thing." I said to Yuuki. "If she doesn't shut her mouth, please kill her".

"Gladly!" The girl was as sick of Liz as I was.

"You wouldn't!" She challenged. I drew my rapier.

"There is very little I wouldn't do for some peace and quiet right now". She backed off. 'She needs to learn her words have consequences.' I thought. 'She is one of my closest friends, but she really gets on my nerves'. Soon after, we set the ships on the coast. I rubbed my arms quickly, trying to stimulate blood flow. 'Damn its cold!'.

The Rat appeared by my side. "I heard of your command. So, we are going to be spending some time together?" She asked.

"Yup" I said. "I feel like I already need a break from this….this…. ugh! I don't even have a name for this shit!"

I felt her arms wrap around me. "Don't worry, I know it is hard."

"Yuuki, Angelica! We are going now!" I called.

"Make sure that you are far enough aw at when you- ouch!" I heard.

"Thanks Yuuki!" I called after I guessed she silenced the Smith with a slap.

"Any time!" Was the reply.

I started walking away, not even bothering to check up on my people. 'This is too much' I thought as I strolled towards the forest. Once we crossed the treeline, I couldn't hear the ruckus the mob was making. We walked and I took in my surroundings. The trees were conical in shape, being fir trees. Ice hung down from each branch, forming beautiful and magnificent structures. The snow crunched underfoot, and glittered like diamonds. White was everywhere. I felt exposed in my black getout.

"Here" I heard. I turned and saw Argo fishing through her inventory. "I brought the exact same cloak you have, just white." She withdrew a long white garment. I took it into my hand, nodding my thanks, and equipped it. I still didn't feel warmer, but, that I can tolerate. I saw that Argo had also ditched her dark green outfit, and donned a white traveling cloak, mad she almost blended into the background without using her Stealth Skill.

I turned, and started walking again in the direction I did before. The snow crunched with each of my steps, yet seemed to remain untouched by my companion's. We walked for awhile, in silence. Eventually, the sun was starting to set.

"We should camp here" said Argo. She pulled out some wood, and a sleeping bag. She set down the bag, and dug away some snow to place the wood down.

"You should let me do that" I said, reaching towards the snow.

"You can get frostbite, I can't" she said simply.

"So? It won't be that long" I said, digging into the snow. She sighed.

"Whatever. Give me a moment" her blonde avatar logged out. I sat there alone, arranging the logs on the damp, exposed earth. I heard a crunching sound. I turned towards it to see a grey wolf. It was crouched, ears pulled back. 'Damnit! Why didn't I notice earlier?' I thought, chastising myself. If I lunge with my rapier, the wolf is only a few meters away, and will be at the advantage in close quarters combat. I need a knife. "Item command, item ID Shadow Reaper. Command morph into knife." I felt the blade beside me lighten as it shrunk. The wolf growled.

We moved simultaneously. We lunged, me drawing the knife, it baring fangs and claws. We tackled in mid air, it coming out on top. It's paws held me down while it tried to bite at my face. I kept moving my head side to side, narrowly escaping the snapping jaws. 'So, this is how it ends? By a fucking virtual wolf. Great'. Then as, I kept dodging (computers are stupid, and it didn't realize it should rethink its strategy), I became resolute. 'Fuck this'. With all of my strength, I threw it upward. It gave a surprised yelp as it flew about a meter in the air. I then raised my knife, as it was being thrown in the air, and used [Rapid Bite], a knife skill that has a high Bleeding effect, but low base damage. I hit four times, and rolled over as the wolf tried to enact revenge, I crouched about two meters away, and we circled each other.

The expression the wolf wore was livid. 'No more mr. Nice-doggy! I will not kill you quickly now!' It thought. I grinned. 'This time, I will be ready' I thought. When we moved again, I used a different tactic, I tried dodging and waiting the wolf out. Its HP was dropping quickly from [Rapid Bite]'s Bleeding effect, and was already in the red. All I had to do was survive for about five minutes…. and it was ended when a knife appeared in its skull. It froze, and exploded into blue polygons. I looked at the thrower of the knife, and saw Argo. Not the blonde avatar, the real Argo with auburn hair, and she was standing in a knife throwing position. She straightened in her white cloak. "I leave you alone for two minutes and you cannot stay alive even that long. You are really slacking my love" she walked over and picked up her knife, arching her back in the process.

"Nah, I just wanted to play" I said, dimming May arm, and seeing it was exposed. 'Damn, that wolf must've torn off my sleeve. And Argo just bought this for me!' I sighed. "Sorry I ruined the cloak" I said, feeling the chill of the day seep in.

"Hey, I got more. I knew you would want to…" she paused, and bit her lip, "play"

"Okay, you are acting strange, what's up?" I asked. "And, how are you in your SAO avatar?"

"I have a programmer as a friend. I can do whatever I want" she winked. She then squatted and rolled out the bag. I checked the time, and saw it was already six.

"Aren't you logging out?" I asked.

"Nope. I am beside you in the hospital room. Your slutty nurse friend has me hooked up, so I can be with you all weekend." I walked behind her, and wrapped my arms around her torso as she stood. She turned her head to the side, and I kissed her. She then crouched and got into the bag, gesturing for me to enter as well, which I did very enthusiastically.

"So basically, I have you for the whole weekend?" I asked.

"Yup" she said, and then she opened her menu, and unequipped all of her clothes. "And hopefully, we will make up for lost time."


	56. Chapter 56-Walk In The Woods

**again, this is dedicated to Failtastic Belt (I am sorry for messing up your name earlier)**

 **thanks to Failtasic Belt, who found a lot of mistakes in this chapter.**

 **please write a review!**

The next morning, we woke up to a snapping noise. I felt the warm press of Argo's body beside me stiffen. In the bag, we couldn't feel the snow and ice beneath us, so we could snuggle without actually needing to., for warmth. I silenced my menu with a flick of the wrist, and then equipped my clothing and my Shadow Reaper knife form. I then carefully got out of the bag, into the cold morning. The sky was overcast, and the day cold, but my adrenaline was pumping, so I didn't feel anything. I stood, in a ready position. I saw some tree branches twitch in front of me, about five meters away. I reached my hand down, and Argo put a throwing knife in it. The higher your AgI stat, the better your aim, so I could be a knife thrower if I wanted to. I looked into the tree, pinpointing the source of the moving branches. I pulled the knife back, slightly behind my head, and it started glowing blue as the beginning of my only knife throwing skill readied. Before I let the knife fly, Argo stood, fully clothed, and threw a rock, and a bird flew out of the trees.

"You were about to kill a bird" she stated. "I am glad for the protection, but you don't need to kill a little birdy." She chided me.

"Well, that bird might have been vicious!" I said defensively. "You never know!"

"Ha!" She laughed, and then placed the sleeping bag in her inventory. "We should get going. Do the others know how long we are going to be gone?"

"Do we know how long we are going to be gone?" Was my retort.

"Nope."

"There. Even I could find out the answer using simple logic, and you, the ever famous Argo The Rat cannot! Wow, you are really slacking!"

She punched me. "Screw you"

"Gladly!" Was my honest reply.

"Ugh! You know what I mean!" She giggled, and heaved a mock-exasperated sigh. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked.

"Hmm, how about give me some chicken and waffles. I heard that is a big hit in America, and sounds good!"

"Only you can sound like a complete dumbass! Wow!" She started walking away, shaking her head and still giggling. "Baka!"

"Kitty!"

We held hands and enjoyed each other's company, and strolled through the beautiful frozen forest. At one point, I heard scuffling. I stopped us, and reaches over to her belt. After she let me grab a throwing knife, I turned to see a snow rabbit. It was faceing to the side, its glittering eyes looking straight at me. I looked at Argo and mouthed "lunch" and she nodded. I turned back towards the rabbit, drew the knife back. It glowed. I let it fly with a sudden jerk forward. It jumped at the last second, and I pinned it to a tree by the tail. "Damn" I said. I walked over to it, as it squirmed trying to get free. I drew my fighting knife, and ended it in one slice to the neck. The rabbit froze, and exploded into small blue lights. I received [Rabbit Meat] as a reward.

I checked my HUD, and saw it was nearly eleven am, so, we continued.

"Hey, why are you staying here?" I asked as we walked, hand in hand.

She pretended to contemplate this question. "I wanted to help my beloved. I knew that all I could do on the outside was make money and talk to Kazuto, so I made the decision to come in here for a multi-day gaming binge, and help you out!"

'I love her' I thought. 'I never would have made that decision to be in for many days at a time, especially after what Ihave been through' we continued for a while.

Suddenly, I stopped, feeling uneasy. "What's wrong?" Asked Argo. I did not say anything. I just stood, trying to pinpoint the source of my newfound feeling. I faced a direction, a little to my left.

"Argo. Using your Detection Skill, search that area" I said.

She obeyed, looking that way, and squinting. Her eyes glowed softly as she activated the skill. "I don't see anything" she reported.

My feeling did not ease, and Argo seemed to be having the same feeling as me. We looked at each other, and nodded, knowing what to without speaking. Years of knowing someone does that to you. We went forward, invisible by Stealth, and we separated, flanking whatever gave me the feeling, yet evaded Argo's Detection. Once I reached the edge of a clearing, I saw in the middle, a figure in a dark animal skin cloak, called [Viking Hunter]. He was almost seven feet tall like al of the other Vikings I have seen in this game, and wore leather armor, form chest armor to his thick boots. In his left hand was a short recoil bow, used for hunting game at a distance of no more than thirty meters, but, within that thirty meters, it was a devastating weapon, dealing a lot of damage with a large knockback effect. Beyond that range, it was very ineffectual, dealing almost no damage. I stood about five meters form him, nad he was facing the other way. I could not see what he was doing, as he faced a tree. Again, under the cloak of Stealth, I moved two meters to my right. What I saw shocked me to no end.

He was holding a struggling Argo against a tree by the neck. 'Damn, she cannot stay hidden.' The Viking spoke. "Wow, ye little girl just can't stay hidden, now could'ya?" He laughed, and continued. "Ye were so easy to find! Imagine what the chief will say, when I bring home a girl! If I bring you and a few moose, I will be the talk o' the day!" He let out a deep belly laugh. "Now all I gotta do is find yer friend!"

'So he knows about us!' I thought, and then I whispered "Shadow Reaper, morph rapier" I hoped the paraphrased command would still register, and it did. The knife at my side silently turned to a long black sword. I stepped out of hiding.

"Hey, ass face! Next time, try and not sound like a bear in a china cabinet!" I yelled. He turned, holding Argo up by the back of the cloak.

"Oh, there ye are!" He said. "Now then, drop yer weapons or I'll kill the girl!" He had dropped the recoil bow, and drew a long skinning knife, the blade glinting menacingly. As soon as he said those words, I paled at the threat. 'Wait, why am I scared? Argo will just respawn!'.

"Nice try, ass face. I am not scared of her dying. Now put the girl down, and I might let you live"

"No!" He brought Argo right in front of him, protecting his body. "I will not submit to the likes of ye! Will he kill yer girl just ta get at me?" He laughed.

"Actually" I said, looking at Argo. She was mouthing '[Vorpal Strike]', and I was not going to screw this up. "I think I will kill her to get to you"

"Huh?" He looked at me as I dashed at him, and raised my rapier, and pointed it at him. Then my blade glowed yellow, and extended to double its length. I felt the blade enter Argo's body, and the viking's armored one respectively. Argo, who invested as much SP in HP as me, died instantly, and exploded into blue lights. The Viking stumbled back, my sword's glow fading. My blade was all the way into his gut to the hilt. His health was draining.

"He, not to bad laddie" he said, and then, my eyes opened wide as his massive ham of a hand swung down, and connected with my face, sending me sprawling. My head crashed against a tree, and I was seeing stars. I shook my head to clear it, and stood, leaning on my right leg as my left one felt horrid. "But really really not good!" He withdrew the thin blade from his torso… and fell over.

"How in hell? What black magic is this?" He demanded, the blade resting on his stomach, holding him down.

"Well, you see" I said, limping towards him. "Only the worthy can wield that sword. It is a holy blade, forged from a piece of a god, and if any unworthy try and hold it, it will ensure you cannot!"

"That's total bullshit!" He said, still squirming. I smiled.

"Yup" then Argo came panting out of the treeline.

"Sorry I am late" she said, walking over. "Oh wow, he obviously isn't worthy" she said, looking at the blade laying on his chest. "Want a knife? Then you get the XP." She held out a long, close-combat knife.

I took it, grinning.

"No! No! No!" Said the Viking. "Mercy, please!" He said.

"You weren't going to show my beloved here mercy" I growled. "And I am really good at holding a grudge." I knelt, and plunged the knife into the Viking's head, killing him instantly.

"Well" I said, standing up after retrieving my Shadow Reaper. "Today has been eventful"

"Yup" she came over to me, and took my hand. "And I really do not want to interrupt our weekend searching for this guy's village….soooooo…."

"I agree" I said, and we walked along in the woods, her whistling some song or other.

"You did willingly sacrifice me though"

"You are going to give me hell for that, aren't you?"

"Oh, hell yeah!" She said, giggling.

"Okay, kitty" I said.

"Damn you!"

 **I will never let that go! XD**


	57. Chapter 57-Hollow Vikings

**Failtastic Belt has helped me out a lot with the idea of this chapter, so a small shoutout to him!**

 **please review!**

We were sitting in a tree, completely invisible, watching the group of players, lead by Angelica, get together for a battle plan. Argo was beside me, listening with her high Detection skill, which, when upgraded enough, allows for the hearing of things a farther distance away than anyone thought possible. The breeze caught in my fair hair, blowing it back. The water was lapping gently against the shore, dazing me as I waited.

"Okay, so they plan to first look for us" whispered Argo. I was the one actually sitting on the tree, her atop me. "And then a Viking village not too far from here. That was probably the home of the guy who attacked us."

"Mm hmm" I responded.

The group broke up, and started to walk this way. I sighed. "Do we have to reveal ourselves?" I whispered in her ear.

"Sadly, yes." She sighed as well.

"We cannot have another day together?" I whispered, and nobles on her ear.

"Trust me. I want to as much as you do" she leaned forward, getting off me. "Let's go." Right before the group reached us, with Angelica in the lead, we lept and startled the whole of them. Angelica drew her sword, and got in front of the others, and was quickly joined by Yuuki.

"Hey, don't attack!" I said, raising my arms, "I wouldn't want to have to hurt you two!" I stood erect, showing them our identity. "Gods, I didn't know you were so jumpy!"

Argo just stood, cloak and hood on as always. I then noticed that with her cloak on that way, her real form and avatar looked exactly the same. She even painted three whiskers on each side of her face, completing the Rat image.

"Damnit, Tryth! Next time I will slice you in half!" Swore Angelica.

"Wow, you are acting different, Angelica. Something wrong?" I asked.

"Yeah! You had the balls to leave us without telling us you would be gone all weekend! It's fucking Monday, Tryth! Do you understand that?"

"Yes, in fact I do. You say you found their village, where?" I asked.

"Twenty kilometers north" she said, and started off.

"Stop" I commanded.

"No" she said, and everyone followed her.

"That settlement is a fake, only twenty npc's there. The real one is thirty five klicks to the north-east" I said.

"And how do you know that?" She demanded, turning around.

"Maybe next time you accuse me of doing nothing, you should remember I am the husband of The Info Broker." I brushed past her stiffly. "Sure, we had fun, but we worked, and found out a lot more than your whole group. Next time, don't question me" I started heading off in the direction of the settlement I said was the real one. Angelica just stood there, mouth agape.

"Yessir" she said, and followed.

"Oh, and one more thing. Argo hates being yelled at for this more than I do, so if you all of a sudden die from a knife to the back, it wasn't me" I heard her gulp. 'Good, that will teach her'. "On we go! Liz, you are in back, keeping our ass covered, I want Angelica on one side, and Yuuki on the other. Argo and I will be about fifty meters ahead of you, keeping the area secure. Then, we should make it there with all of the force intact." I felt the presence of my mate beside me. We both set off, jogging at the same speed. Once I judged we were the promised distance, we slowed to a walking pace. Through the trees, they couldn't see us, and we couldn't see anything for more than a few meters in any direction. We then turned invisible, so we could approach anything we decided was prey without being noticed. We trudged through the terrain, in silence.

"Wait" whispered Argo. I immediately obeyed the command, frozen mid-step. I did not move a muscle, as I waited for her explanation. "I see something". I slowly, and silently, placed my foot on the snow. I opened my menu (with the sound turned off), and sent Angelica a message to not keep going. I received a "got it". Argo walked slowly forward, ramping up the Stealth, so even I could barely see her. She kept going for a while, and then out of my sight. Still, I did not move.

I heard a scream and that broke my self control. I dashed towards the source of the scream, recognizing it as Argo's voice, and drew my rapier in the process. I ran, past trees, and found her staring at two Vikings. 'Why in the hell does it have to be the, again?' I saw that each of them had three health bars, and were called [Hollow Viking]s. 'Huh? What is a [Hollow Viking]?' I did not have time to ponder this predicament, however, as I saw one of them, holding a two handed battle axe, was swinging at her. Like the dumbass I am, I ran in the way of the strike, instincts taking over.

My blade shone blue with [Snake Bite], another personal favorite. I got in the way of the downwards slash, and rose my sword in a parry, but the power behind my uppercut with [Snake Bite] was slightly more than even I was expecting, so his axe bounced off, and I continued going up.

Now a mini lesson in the Power (pwr) a strike has. Pwr is a stat, like Str or Agi, except it affects your sword, and only your sword, and it changes a lot. Pwr is affected by your Str stat mostly, but, the speed at which you are traveling also has a huge impact on how much pwr your strike has. So, if you are trying to save someone's life, and moving as fast as possible, and then some, with the System boosting your speed because of you activating a Skill, then even if your Str is not high, your attack will have a high pwr.

When my sword made contact with his axe a second time, as [Snake Bite] is a two hit sword skill that targets the opponent's weapon, my skill's ability kicked in. His axe shattered into blue polygons as [Snake Bite] took all of its durability away. I then crouched, and backed away, taking Argo with me. The two Vikings looked at the empty space where the axe used to be, and then back at me.

"You broke Betty!" The one that used to own that axe said. "I will break you!" With agility that he should not have had, he dashed towards me, drawing a large claymore sword from his waist, and brandishing it, he slashed at me. But I wasn't that clueless. Smiling, I said "Morph, broadsword" and my rapier transformed into a five foot sword, that had some weight to it. He swung downwards, blade glowing with [Inverted Vertical]. I raised my blade and parried, [Shining Blade] active. I then followed through with a jab to his neck, and then, while using my unique skill, tried to start [Howling Octave], and the skills mixed. A swirling vortex engulfed my blade, made of fire, and I used the eight hit skill to devastating effects on the poor npc.

The Viking staggered back, and fell over, reduced to half of the last health bar. He sat there, taking in a few breaths. "How in hell?" He wheezed. His companion came over.

"Bob! Bob , are you okay?!" He knelt beside his companion. I stood, confused. Not about the npc's antics, but about my blade. 'I used enough pwr to kill him three times over' I thought. 'What the hell?'

Then I heard Bob speak. "Joe, please, leave. Go home, and protect the kids"

"You know I can't do that Bob!" A question mark, the symbol for a quest appeared over his head. "Please, spare us." He said. I sighed. 'Is it really that simple? I just sparked a quest by not killing one of them. Maybe….'

"Fine" I said, sheathing my sword at my waist.

"What?" Asked Argo.

"Well, I realize you weren't in any real danger, and it is a quest! I can use some XP!"

"Ugh" she sighed. I faced the Vikings.

"Thank you, oh merciful-one!" Said Joe. He dug in a pocket, and brought out a health potion, and fed it to Bob. Then they both stood. "We must repay him!"

"Yes, I agree." Said Bob, but he had a rebellious look, that was squandered when I tapped the handle of my broadsword. They both started changing. Then I heard Bob's voice. "He had siblings in the World of Aincrad…. but they are no more" this brought tears to my eyes, remembering my siblings. 'Damn. So I am not at peace with it.' I thought.

"Yes. I will take the girl, you the boy" said Joe, who was now a floating ball of light. 'What does he mean by "take"?' I thought, getting ready to fight again.

Then, an explosion, and Argo and I were blown back, my on top of her.

"Ow" I said. I stood, stiff, and looked behind me. Argo was out cold. I then looked at the source of the explosion. It was a little girl of about nine, and a boy of sixteenish.

"Alesha?! Bronts?!"

 **After much debate, I brought them back.**


	58. Chapter 58-Newcommers

**This is one of my shorter chapters, sorry, didn't have much to write.**

My knees gave way, and I sunk down, kneeling before the two kids. The snow melted beneath me a little, soaking my pants, but I didn't notice.

"Personality download, thirty eight per cent complete" they said in unison. This jolted me out of my trance. 'Personality download? So they aren't the real Alesha and Bronts?' I thought. 'How could they be? The real two died years ago'. "Personality download, eighty two per cent complete."

I then regained the ability to stand, and so I did. My legs shaking slightly, I raised myself to an erect position. "Personality download, complete" they said, and then blinked rapidly. "We are two units of the Reincarnation of Dead Souls, or the RODS program, nicknamed 'Hollow's. We have now assessed, and become your brother and sister. For all intents and purposes, we are your siblings, except we could not salvage all of the memories, so our data is lacking." Then I stood.

"So… you are now Alesha and Bronts?" I asked timidly.

"Yes" they said in unison. Then, they blinked rapidly, as though they woke up. "Tryn?" Asked Alesha. "Tryn!" She rushed towards me and jumped into my arms. "It is so good to see you again!" I felt the tears start going down my face. "What's wrong, Tryn?" She asked, releasing me, and backing away.

"I…. I saw you die. You died in my arms… it is very hard to accept that you are back" I said, tears leaking down my face.

"We are back now" said the deep baritone of my brother. He walked over, and instigated a group hug.

"Who in hell are these two?" I heard a voice demand. I let go of my siblings, and saw Angelica standing there, both swords drawn, in a fighting stance. Immediately, my two siblings materialized swords in their hands, and shoved me behind them.

"She is hostile. We will protect you Tryn" said Bronts.

"We will take care of the big meanie!" Said Alesha. They charged at her.

"Fine, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you get!" They charged her, but she initiated a dual wielding skill, and blocked both strikes at once, although with some difficulty. "Damn, you two hit hard!" She exclaimed, backing away.

"We haven't even started." Said Bronts.

"Yeah! I was the strongest back in SAO!" Said Alesha.

"Wait… you are from SAO… and you know Tryth… holy shit!" She said, and the realization of who they were stunned her for long enough for my siblings to close in, and attack. I was there, sword glowing with [Snake Bite]. I shattered Bronts' sword, but was not i a position to block Alesha. I then backflipped over her, now standing between her and Angelica.

"She is my best friend, and I will be damned if I let you harm her, IRL, or virtually."I growled. "Don't attack. Please."

"She…. friend?" Alesha lowered her sword.

"Yes" I said, getting out of a defensive posture. "She is a really good friend".

Before I could react, both Alesha and Bronts were kneeling before Angelica, saying "Please forgive us, Tryn's Friend!". I sighed aloud at their antics.

"Can someone explain what in the hell is going on?" Demanded Angelica, putting her hands on her hips.

I felt a familiar presence at my side, and did not react. "The are computer programs, built to act like humans after studying their behaviors for extended time. Apparently, a scanning program was in SAO, so, anyone who died, can be turned into a npc. I thought this was in production, decades away, but my intel was wrong" Explained Argo. She then grabbed her hood that had flown off her head, and lowered it back to where only her whispered mouth was showing.

"Yup" said Alesha. "I would explain further, but it is really hard to comprehend".

'And now i can see the difference between the npc, and my real sister. My sister had a much smaller vocabulary' I thought. We all head sounds of people walking. 'Uh oh, that is our main force!' "Uhhh, guys, how will we explain a girl who looks like she is nine, to a group of people who know you have to be thirteen to play this game?" I asked. "Speaking of which… how did you log into SAO?"

"Easy!" She said. "I had Bronts log in, and then took the helmets off him, and put it on me!" 'Sneaky little brat' I thought.' "Also…" she put her hands together like she was praying, and a bright light appeared… I shielded my eyes from the glare, and when it receded, I saw that my little sister was replaced by a teenager, who had the same hair and eyes. "Wow" I said, jaw dropped. "Umm, next time, start with that one"

"Okay" she said.

"Who the hell are they?" I heard. 'Oh my...grrrrrrr!' I thought, turning. But, I didn't snap, years of dealing with an Info Broker as a girlfriend and spouse teaches you patience, especially when she uses your words and local gossip against you. I saw that brat, Brian. His broadsword was strapped to his side, and his hands were on his hips. He had a demanding expression on his face. I decided this an opportunity to make an example. I saw that the rest of the group was behind him. I flicked my rapier in his direction, and charged, using [Linear] to pin him to a tree.

"If I hear you speak that way to someone I care about, I will kill you over and over until you finally log out, and I will troll your ass off until my account is banned." He gulped from the threat. "Do we have an understanding?" He nodded quickly, his head bobbing. "Good" I growled. I withdrew my blade from his gut, and sheathed it at my side while his health slowly regenerated. I turned back to my gathered friends. "There, that took care of him." Said Angelica, smirking. Argo stood, shaking her head, and instantly took in the s

"Yup" I agreed. "Now, Argo. We need to go ahead and keep the team safe. Alesha, Bronts. There is a large squad of players coming this way, you two are going to join it. Two extra swords never hurt anyone." They nodded, and waited, as Argo and I ran off.

"You don't want to spend time with those two?" Asked Argo as we jogged.

"I do, but I don't. It is really hard to explain. I feel overjoyed that they are back, but at the same time, I know they aren't my real family." I explained, slowing to a brisk walk. "They didn't recognize Angelica, so that proves that their memories aren't intact"

"Yeah" she agreed. She walked beside me.

I felt her gloved hand grab mine firmly. The gesture said "I am here for you" and meant more than words could express. We walked in silence. The cold was starting to get to me, and I could barely feel everything, but her hand remained warm. She stopped suddenly. "We are here" she said. We sat, and waited for the others.

When they arrived, our attack strategy was basically to rush in, and gave them no chance to react while we massacred them. It worked well.


	59. Chapter 59-Odin the Allfather

**Sorry for not updating, I was caught up thinking about a Bleach fanfic.**

 **pls post a review to tell me what you think! Your voices are heard!**

 **thanks for reading!**

I rushed at the boss we were facing, jumping high in the air with [Sonic Leap] to unleash a hailstorm of blows upon head. It was humanoid, but was made of stone. It was shirtless, and it's clothing consisted of a loincloth, and an eyepatch. It's name was [Odin the Allfather]. After my rapier struck its bare eye a few times, it swatted me out of the air, and I hit the rocky sides of the wide cavern. I was stunned form the blow. I heard the ringing of the clash of metal in front of me while my eyes were still refocusing. When the blurriness faded, I saw my trusty friend, Angelica blocking the God's spear with her blades crossed, glowing with her blocking skill.

"Damnit! Stop taking a nap and fuck this thing already!" She commanded. I stood, and shook my head clearing it.

"On it" I responded. I started rushing towards the boss. The cool thing about Angelica's blocking skill is that as long as she can keep it up, her opponent's weapon cannot disengage… unless his skill ends. So basically, she keeps both skills running until she decides otherwise, trapping her opponent until I hit it with a devastating blow.

"Morph, broadsword!" I yelled as I jumped onto the boss's spear, running up the shaft. As I dashed, balanced along the beam, I raised my arm, pointing the heavy blade right at its face, blade glowing yellow with the single hit skill with the highest base damage, [Vorpal Strike]. I grinned at the boss, as my blade struck its bare eye, embedding all the way to the hilt. It roared furiously as its first health bar out of four dropped into its last quarter. While Odin tried to back away, now released from Angelica's skill, I tried to get my sword out its stone eye, to no avail. I grimaced a s the stone statue bucked me off its shoulder.

Again, I struck the stone wall, but this time much harder. I felt a sharp pain in my back where a rock had jutted into me on impact, and knew something important was broken, and judging by the Paralyzed status symbol on my HUD, my spine. I lay there, unable to move, blood leaking from my mouth and back. I watched Angelica and Yuuki keep the sone boss busy as Sinon took potshots at it. Odin seemed to be blinded now that its only working eye has a sword hilt sticking out of it.

I felt a presence beside me, and a chanting in another language. I saw my health slowly rising, and the Paralyzed status disappear. Once that happened, I sat up and saw my little blonde friend sitting there, concentrating on her healing spell. "Thanks Silica. Once my health was above half, I patted her shoulder in gratitude, and ran beside Sinon. "Status report." I said.

She unleashed another arrow from her longbow before answering. "My shots are ineffective. The only people doing real damage are Liz, Angelica, and Yuuki.".

"What about my [Vorpal Strike]?"

"I checked, little damage."

"Damnit! I thought I did a lot considering I brought it down to a quarter!"

"You never check boss's HP, do you?" I heard behind me. "It was at exactly a quarter when you hit it." I turned to see Argo sitting down and watching.

"And why are you doing nothing?" I demanded.

"Because! I'll do almost no damage! This isn't a boss you can beat with DPS! We need the brutes on the frontlines!" She said.

"You got us into this mess, the least you could do is help get us out!" I yelled at her.

"Look out!" I heard. I spun to see the boss swinging its giant spear towards us. I grinned.

"Angelica, I give you permission to wield Shadow Reaper!" I yelled, and then jumped out of the way.

"On it!" She got my idea. She gracefully leapt over all of Odin's attacks, and did as I a moment earlier, ran up its arm. She made it to the face, and using her magnificent Str stat, yanked the blade out of the eyes. Still in the air, she yelled "[Starburst Stream]!" And then executed the sixteen hit skill while I got in position with Yuuki, right in front of the boss. Once her skill was three hits from completing, Yuuki threw me into the air.

After unleashing her last hit on the stone statue, she dropped the Shadow Reaper to me, and Yuuki used [Sonic Leap] to jump beside me.

We nodded to each other, and our swords started glowing white. "[Shining Duo Hellstorm]!" We screamed in unison, and unleashed hell upon the Allfather. Our onslaught of blows rained down upon his head, forming a perfect sphere of destruction, where anything that got caught within the radius was obliterated, for example, Odin's thirty seconds, we lowered his health from the last quarter of the first bar, to the last half of the last bar. We landed, exhausted, onto the stone earth, and watched the stone statue stumble back. During our attack, or was unable to move, but now, with Yuuki being the one who got the last hit in, it stumbled form the force of our blows.

I leaned on Yuuki as we stumbled away, unable to do more fighting. Angelica started slicing at the body, while it tried to retreat. "Tryth! If you want the last hit bonus, come now!" She said, slicing away. I stood from my resting place, and got ready to use [Sonic Leap] followed by [Flashing Penetrator]. Once I did, I floated in front of the face of Odin. I grinned at him, and the stony glare.

"Surprise!" I yelled, and sliced as fast as I could with [Linear], taking the last of his health. I landed on the ground as the boss exploded. Everyone crowded me, waiting for the pop up window that told me what I got. After thirty seconds, it was obvious nothing would come, not even a "you leveled up!" window.

Then, a window popped up.

"You skill has evolved"

'Huh?' I thought. I scrolled down, and saw:

[Piercing Light] active

You sword will extend up to one hundred feet long, and you will thrust forward. This skill ignores all defense points.

[Prayer by the Deathbed] passive

Instead of dying, your health will instantly regenerate to halfway, this skill only works once, and has a three hour cooldown.

[Power of Friendship] passive

For a maximum of one hour, you can transfer all of your [Shining Blade] skills to another person, at the end of that time, the skills transfer back to you. This skill has a cooldown of three hours.

[Prayer] passive

This skill allows your regeneration skill to double its speed while you are standing still.

I raised my eyebrows at these. 'Damn' I thought. 'This will be fun'. "Holy shit" said Liz, reading through the list. "How in the hell do we compete with this?" She asked.

"Easy" I said, "You start practicing, and grinding".

"But it's soooooooo boring!" She wined.

"And that is why I am double your level" I said.

"No!" She exclaimed. "It's because you are stuck in here!"

"That too" I laughed, but felt as though my heart was made of lead. 'She seems to be able to joke about me unable to move IRL, about me having a burden. At least she is happy. At least they all are' I thought as they all laughed and joked with each other. Angelica slapped Yuuki's back after something she said made her tear up with laughter.

"They are trying to stay happy" I heard beside me. I glanced to the side, and saw my mate. "Your burden is shared with all of us, we laugh and joke to try and keep sane with the stress"

"Well, none of you should be stressed" was my quiet response.

"Why shouldn't we?" She asked, laying a hand on my shoulder. "What you are feeling, emotionally, we all feel, knowing that you are stuck here, suffering while the rest of us go about our lives." She shook her head from side to side. "It's hard"

"Well, I should carry this burden alone. No need to hurt you guys"

"No need to keep it to yourself! You did this back in SAO. Sharing is what helped you not die, sharing helped me keep you"

"Thanks." I said shortly, and then louder, "So, how do we get out of here?" We all looked up.

Argo had lead us through a forest, looking for the [Nation Boss], and we stumbled into a pothole, which turned out to be this huge cavern.

"Teleport?" Suggested Yuuki. "The [Dungeon] status has left this area".

"Fine," I said. We all got out crystals, and said in unison "Teleport, ship!" And went back to our galleys, for the next adventure.


	60. Chapter 60-Stalker

**sorry I haven't posted lately, I was trying to figure out how to incorporate a request into the chapter. Speaking of which, this chapter is dedicated to "gothgod9415", who requested a new character. Thanks faithful readers!**

The lord of the Vikings gave us directions to head south, and by land. He said bad things will befall us if we go by sea. The sad part is, is that the only people that heeded that warning were myself, and my friends. We stood on the coast, looking at the crowd take the two ships out to sea. "You are making a mistake" I yelled to the party.

"Oh yeah? We can fight through anything in our way!" Yelled someone.

"Damnit" I grunted. I watched our main force sail away, with much frustration. Then, just as they were about to hit the open waters, a huge black tentacle erupted out of the water, and cracked the two ships in half with one stroke. I stood there, mouth agape as the people drowned in the water, or were pulled down by whatever had a fifty foot tentacle. 'Damn. Good thing we heeded the Lord's word' I thought to myself. I turned to my friends. "Well, it's just like old times! Just us again!" And I strolled briskly past them. Argo perked up, beside me. "Something wrong?" I asked her as her head moved slightly to each side, telling me she was trying to survey the area.

"No, nothing" she murmured.

He stood, just beyond the treeline, watching. Then, the little mousy one called Argo stood a little straighter. 'Did she see me?' He asked himself. Then the Rat seemed to calm down. 'Guess not'. He almost felt disappointed, but then squandered the thought. Why should he want to be caught? The time will come, just not yet.

He tailed the group, staying in the leafless trees as to not make sounds on the snow. He followed them, as they made their way south. He was almost caught four times, managing to dodge out of sight each time, but only just. When they exited the forest, into a small village, he had to make a choice. Whether to follow them inside, or go to the other side of the small village, and follow them from there. He decided to go into the town, thinking that maybe he will buy some materials. And food.

The village was small, and dingy. The farmers had meager goods, and shops overcharged for everything. Basically, the exact same as every VRMMORPG, or every RPG in existence. After buying three HP potions, He saw the people he was tailing start to head out of the village. He followed. They headed out towards another forest, probably told of a short cut to wherever they were headed. Again, the Watcher took to the trees, and moved stealthily, making sure he was not detected. After about ten minutes of following, he noticed that the leader had disappeared. 'Oh shit' he thought, as his body was kicked out of the tree.

"Damnit! Why are you charging four thousand gold for a single HP potion?" I demanded of the shopkeeper. We were at a stall in the center of a little village, on the border of Viking territory, where the population didn't number above one hundred.

"We are poor here" started the frail old woman. "And we make the best living we can…"

I cut her off. "Yeah yeah. Whatever. Damnit" I repeated, handing over four hundred thousand gold to her. "Wretch." I muttered under my breath, earning a jab to the torso from Argo's, Angelica's, Liz's, and Yuuki's elbow. I grunted, more from surprise than pain. "What was that for?" I asked indignantly.

"Being mean!"

"Being an idiot!"

"Being you!"

"Calling an npc something rude when it has no control over what you are pissed over, Baka!"

I sighed at the four girls. "Umm" squeaked Silica. "Why are you so mean to Tryth?" She asked.

"Because, it's fun"

"It's fun"

"It's sooo funny"

"Because I am his wife, and I get the right to do that".

"Oh" she stared at her shoes. "Sorry."

I sighed again, this time because of Silica. I placed my hand on her shoulder, saying, "Hey. You did this back in SAO, and I think you should stop. You are always sorry, for no reason. Quit it! You need to learn confidence in yourself!"

"Sorry!" She squeaked, then realized that she said, and hanging her head further.

I laughed at her. "well, it's a work in progress". She raised her head and couldn't keep a straight face, and started giggling as well. We walked off towards an old man, who had the marker "Village Elder" above his head.

I bowed deeply to him, as did my compatriots. "Sir, we have conquered these lands, and wish to know the next we should take."

He stroked his long grey beard in thought. "Go to the south east, towards the Great Sea. The, once the Sea is to the south, head east. Then, south again. There, you will if do your next foe."

"If this were Europe, he would be referring to Greece" explained Argo next to me in a whisper.

'Wait a second…. isn't Greece like, over fifteen hundred kilometers from here, at the least?' I thought, but I kept my face neutral, and I bowed deeply again, "Thank you for the information."

As I raised, the Elder spoke. "We should be thanking you, wandering swordsmen, and swordswomen. You freed us from the evil tyrant, Odin the Allfather. You have done us a great service. Please, be on your way, but first." He left us hanging while he called over a boy, and whispered something in their language. The boy's eyes widened, and he ran off. After a moment, he returned. In his hand, was a cloth wrapped blade. "This goes to you, miss" he gestured towards Angelica.

She grabbed the tattered grey wrapping, and unfolded it, to reveal the sword underneath. The blade was a startling silver, shining bright. The hilt was the same color, and there were no etchings, or engravings, just plain silver. She picked it up by the hilt, and I saw her arm flex with the new burden. "Wow, weighty!" She said, giving it an experimental swing. "I dual wield, got another one of these?"

"No, but it can split into two separate swords" explained the Elder. She grabbed the hilt with both hands, and pulled them apart. The sword glowed slightly, and then separated into two of the exact same blade. She smiled, and sheathed the new swords on her back.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed. We headed off towards the route prescribed by the Elder.

After about ten minutes of walking, Argo spoke beside me. "Someone has been following us since the coast." Our feet crunching in the snow, we all took a sharp right in unison, and, while our pursuer lost sight of me for an instant, I activated Stealth. I then stood, waiting for the Pursuer to pass me while my friends left.

I caught a fleeting glimpse of something moving quickly above me, and my eyes snapped to it. I saw a figure, in the tree, waiting for my friends to continue farther.

'This is too easy' I thought. I leapt up into the tree, right next to Him, and kicked as hard as I could, sending him out. As he fell, he rolled to one side, as to get away when I jumped down, and faced him, sword drawn. He had a katana in hand, crouched low to keep balanced. He wore a white cloak, to blend into the background, and had on a pearly white mask, like those seen in operas. Instead of eyes, I saw white lenses, so he gave off a ghostly air. I saw the [Player Cursor] above his head, calling him (the fitting name), Wraith.

"Why have you been following us" I asked menacingly, not crouching into a battle stance, but instead standing erect, radiating confidence. At his silence, I repeated my question. "Why are you tailing us?!"

"Why do you use that username?" I heard a deep bass voice come from the scrawny figure.

"What? 'Tryth'?" I inquired, getting an uneasy feeling.

"Why do you tarnish that name?" It demanded. "The owner of that name is a hero! You don't deserve that name!" He attacked. His sword glowed blue, as he swung the katana. I blocked easily with my Shadow Reaper. Our swords crossed, his blue, and mine not glowing.

"You should give up" I stated.

"No! Not before you change your username!" He pressed harder, now using both hands.

I sighed. "Your funeral". I disengaged easily, and dodged backwards before he could finish his swing. I then dashed forward, and rammed my rapier through his gut, and into a tree, pinning him there. "Hey, Argo" I called, and the Rat drew a long, close quarters knife, and threw it to me. I caught it by the handle. He raised his katana, and swung weakly. I took it from him using a new skill, called [Disarming]. I then threw the katana at Yuuki, who broke it with one swing of [Snake Bite]. "I have no idea who you are" I growled at him, my face millimeters from his, staring into his black soulless eyes. "But, I am Tryth, the Shadow Reaper. The leader of the Blades of Aincrad, your BAIN. And, I am no hero. I am a man trying to survive." I took my face away from the mask's. I then raised the knife to his neck, and spoke again in the same low growl. "Now is the time where you tell me who you are, and why you are stalking my friends."


	61. Chapter 61-Isac

**I was originally going to make this a fake chapter (in celebration for 100 reviews), but, I think I did too much important stuff here.**

 **please enjoy, nad review!**

"So...you are… the real Tryth?" He sputtered, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Yes" I said. "I am, but that does not answer my question" I backed away a little. Not as threatening with the foot long blade.

"In SAO, I was a noob who used my IRL name, Isac." At this point, I drew my rapier out of his gut, and cleaned it on his robe before sheathing it at my side. My friends gathered around me as Isac collapsed on the ground, and stood weakly. He then fished through his inventory, and brought out a HP potion. After drinking it, he continued. "I was start of a guild, called Fuurinkazan."

I remembered them. "The samurai guild?" I asked. "I thought they used odachis, not katanas"

"I am hunting for an odachi, this is to tide me over until then. But, still, little history lesson: both weapons are samurai swords" he explained in that deep bass drone.

"Continue" commanded Yuuki beside me.

After a nod, he complied. "My leader, Klein, gave us a mission when we entered floor one hundred. We, along with the Aincrad Liberation Force, tracked down Laughing Coffin, and put them in SAO prison on the first floor. But, we didn't get PoH. He, along with his elite band of higher ups in the LC chain of command, broke the rest of his guild out. We tracked them down, to floor one hundred, where we made a final stand while you were fighting in the tower, trying to get to that damned Kayaba!" He paused. "I killed all of LC, except PoH. They all fell to my blade somehow, and I don't know how. The rest of my guild was annihilated. All except Klein, who is currently in a medical hospital recovering from major PTSD. Hell, I should be there too."

"What is with the mask?" Inquired Angelica.

He seemed to look up from his forlorn memories. "I feel like I am a different person with it on, like the events of SAO never happened."

"Sorry to burst your bubble" I said, interrupting, "but you didn't get all of LC. You missed two of them, and once they got out of SAO, they recruited their little brother. After that, of you have seen the news, that's what happened in GGO."

If his mouth could have opened agape, it would have. "Damnit! I knew that felt off! Wait…. and then… if you are the real Tryth…" he seemed to be putting some puzzle pieces together. "Then you are stuck in this game!" 'Damnit, he figured it out'. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked.

Argo stood beside me to the right, reading his body language. She tapped my back slightly, the gesture telling me that he was sincere.

"I don't need your help" I said simply. He nodded.

"I didn't mean to imply that you are inferior-"

I cut him off. "I know, but I am not going to be able to pass this bitch of a game by being babied through. I have to tough it out, like SAO." He nodded.

I turned. "And by the way. You should do more research. You should have seen Argo the Rat traveling with me, and known not to mess with me" I called over my shoulder.

My hole band was giggling crazily at this.

"You don't have to be so mean!" Said Liz. "Besides, people might get the wrong idea if you are traveling with six girls, and no guys." She taunted me so openly.

I blushed furiously at this.

"Aren't you still underage?" I asked her.

"Nope! Turned eighteen a few days ago! You shoulda known!" Liz pouted.

"Hey! I don't exactly have a calendar in here!" I said indignantly. "Besides, Silica is still too young!"

"And now you are picking on us!" Said Liz, looking like she was having fun.

I sighed, and started walking off.

"Ya know, someday, you are going to come begging me for something, and when that day comes, I am going to laugh at you, and rub it in your face"

This shut them up. My friends followed.

"Are you coming?" I called. "Wraith, better hurry up"

"What?" Asked Angelica. "You cannot be serious. You are letting him join our group?"

"Well, not the guild, but, Liz rose a very valid point, and I hate admitting that Liz is right, but she is."

"What?!" Demanded my longtime friend. "Seriously?"

"Yup, wouldn't want people to think we were a harem or something"

"Why not?" She asked testily.

"Not you too!" I groaned. "Damnit!"

"Am I not good enough for you?" She demanded, much to the amusement of Liz.

"Nooo" I drew out. "That's not it…."

"Then what?" She demanded.

"Well, I am kind of taken…" I gestured towards Argo.

"She wouldn't mind, would you, Argo?" She asked, a begging puppy expression on her face.

"Nope" was her answer.

'you bitch!' I screamed in my mind, aloud, I said "Uh oh, this isn't going to be good."

"It really isn't!" Exclaimed a delighted Lizbeth. She was right beside me, and started clinging to my arm like a fifteen year old. "Oh, Tryth-kun! Now, nothing stands between us! We were meant to be!" She stood on the balls of her feet, trying to kiss my face. I ducked out of the way, just in time.

"Liz, please stop!" I said.

"You didn't say that that day in my shop!" At her words, my cheeks became red again as I remembered that day.

"Why?" I demanded of Argo. "Why are you not doing anything about this?"

She was giggling softly. "Because, I am a sadist!" She kept giggling, making me stare in disbelief.

'Okay…. two can play this game!'.

Poor Liz just happened to be the closest person to me wasn't Argo. I scooped her up into a bridal position, and whispered as I brought my face close to hers. "I will regret this later" and then pressed my lips against hers. She went stiff in my arms, and then loosened almost instantly, closing her eyes, and relishing in it. I made it look like we were deeply kissing (almost eating each other's faces), but she understood that I was doing this to get back at Argo, so, for the sake of decency, so we kept tongues out of it. After about fifteen seconds, we stopped.

"Holy shit" was her comment. "That was way better than I remember!"

I kept the pink haired smith off the ground, but swung her over my shoulder onto my back, for a piggy-back-ride. I caught a quick glance of Argo looking very very angry, and then took off with the light girl on top of me. I ran for a few minutes, while she cheered me on, but I had to stop soon, knowing I couldn't carry her for long.

I put her down, (even though she wanted to continue), and leaned against a tree, sore and panting. "You okay?" She asked.

"Yup, just not strong enough to carry anything more than myself and clothes for long" I said after a moment of catching my breath.

"That was fun! Did you see Argo's face!" She exclaimed, hopping around. Then she stopped. "Wait a second…. you said that you aren't strong enough to carry me… you are calling me fat!" She stomped her foot. "Damn you, Tryth!"

"What?" I said, truly confused. But I catch on quickly. "Oh, nonononooo! I am just weak! I can't carry anyone for long!" I stood up. "Sorry for the-"

"Oh? So we are all fat?" She demanded. She stomped her foot. "Just wait until I tell Angelica, and Yuuki!" 'Oh no'. I knew that those two would have no qualms about cutting me until I had one HP, and then let it regenerate just to start again.

I did the only thing I could think of. I reached out for her arm, grabbed her, and spun her around. I placed my lips on hers again, and she responded the same way, going completely limp, and, somehow, at the same time, pressing into me. When I stopped, her eyes were half lidded. "Or I can forget everything" she murmured.

"Ah-hem" I heard. I turned around, after Liz left my arms, and saw Argo standing there. "Before this turns into a fully fledged porno, how about we forget all of this happened, and then find your siblings." She was sitting in a tree, with the rest of the group around her, staring at us with surprised expressions.

"Oh shit" I said, instantly aware. "Where are they?"

"How do I know?" She demanded, suddenly full of attitude (probably because I was just kissing another woman, but that consequence comes later).

"Because you have the highest [Detection] skill here." I said simply. "Everyone, fan out. We will search for them, and meet back here in fifteen minutes, wash rinse repeat, in another location" I commanded.

Everyone nodded, and we set off.


	62. Chapter 62-Another Choice?

**yes, this chapter is long, but there is a lot going on!**

 **please review!**

Since Liz and Silica were the slowest of us, they stayed in one spot while the rest of us searched. The two girls served as beacons, where our meeting place was. I ran through the dense forest, nearly slipping many times. "Bronts! Alesha!" I called over and over as I ran. I fell over. I rolled to a stop, panting. After ten seconds, I stood to resume my search. I ran, calling out the names that felt foreign to me, but were such a large portion of my life. I heard sounds up ahead. I stopped running suddenly, causing me to slide. Right in the center of a clearing that was created by cutting down trees, there stood a female figure in a black shawl. She was floating in the air, her hair black as pitch. Her eyes were red, and she was staring at the scene in front of me.

Bronts and teenage Alesha were locked in combat. Their swords crossed, each glowing with a sinister light. "Goddamnit, Bronts! Snap out of it!" Alesh yelled. They backed away in unison.

"You need to snap out of it! You have been the reason I have always been so damned depressed!" Before he could continue, I interrupted.

"What the hell is going on?" I shouted.

"Tryn! Back off! Don't look her in the eyes!" Shouted Alesha.

"What?" I asked, not earring her words.

"Oh, Tryyyn." I heard. I looked at the figure. It was Argo floating in the air, not whatever the hell the other thing was.

"Who are you?" I asked it, placing my hand on my rapier, sheathed at my side.

"I am your wife, how in hell cold you forget that?" She demanded. "Well, the ghost of your wife" she looked downcast. "Alesha killed me". This hit me like a deadpan.

"Wha-what?" I stuttered, dropping to my knees. I was decided in my mind.

'Alesha killed Argo'

'No! She would never!'

'But Argo just told me'

'That cannot be Argo!'

'It looks just like her, sound like her'

'What the hell is wrong with you?!'

'What is wrong with you! Your wife just died! And you act like you don't care!

'This isn't real!'

'Prove it!'

I stood up, knees shaking, hands shaking. I gripped the hilt of my black sword, knuckles a contrasting white with the strength I was squeezing with. "Alesha!" I growled. She had just knocked out Bronts., and was panting heavily.

"Tryn. Don't, please" she gasped out. I turned towards her, tears in my eyes.

"How could you. I loved her" I said, my voice quavering. My pulled my blade out a few centimeters.

She flinched at the sound of my sword moving. "I didn't though! You have to believe me!" She got in a defensive stance, sword at the ready.

"I don't have to believe a word out of your filthy word out of your bitch!" I rushed at her.

"KYAAAAAT!" I swung with all of my strength, her she blocked.

"Please stop Tryn!" She grunted.

Tears streaming down my face, I yelled at her. "Why? You couldn't stick with me suffering your death for nine years?! You just couldn't rest with the fact I was trying to commit suicide repeatedly! You had to kill the only thing that kept me tied to this world. I will kill you" I stated clearly.

Again she flinched.

I backflipped away, my resolve absolute. I was now four meters away, and again I ran at her, this time not holding back. [Shining Blade] started up, as I sliced from top to bottom. She again, blocked. The force of the impact forced her onto a knee. I then backed away slightly, and thrusted forward. My blade crashed into the flat of hers, shattering it on impact. I kept going, and soon, she was impaled. She was slumped on me, hugging me. Blood reddened my white garments.

"If-if it mak-k-kes you happy….. I will gladly d-die for you" she coughed.

I stood there, not moving. Tears streaming down my face, I spoke. "Goddamnit" in a whisper. Slowly, I withdrew the rapier from her chest. It was a slice through the heart, so she would have a Bleeding effect. Her health will deplete soon. She fell as I backed away. I heard her gasping for breath.

"Tryth?" I heard. I turned around to see Argo standing there, a knife in hand. She looked terrified. "Why did you kill your sister? You do realize she won't respawn."

"She killed you Argo. I had to" I said, crying.

"Baka, I am right here!" She pulled out a HP potion.

"She isn't the real Argo" I heard clearly. I looked at the floating woman in the center of the clearing. "She wants to kill you! She wants to kill all you hold dear! End her!"

"Yes ma'am" I said.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked the imposter in front of me.

"That is the real Argo, and don't you dare speak to her like that!" I rushed at her, sword still glowing.

"What the-?" She dodged nimbly.

"Die!" I yelled as I sliced furiously.

"What has gotten over you?!" She demanded as she jumped out of the way, a few meters away now. "Why are you attacking me?"

"You must are been in on the real Argo's death! Yes!" I said, putting pieces together.

"What?! I am the real Argo! Baka!" I raced to her again, attacking.

"No! Don't you dare speak her name! You don't deserve that right!" I hacked at her.

"Damnit! How can I prove that I am the real Argo!" She demanded.

I stopped moving. "Fine." I thought. "How did I propose to you?" I asked.

Floating Argo spoke. "You brought me to a ring store, and let me loose. Once I picked out what I wanted, you pulled out a ring that you had already".

"There, happy?" I asked the Imposter.

"No one more!" She demanded. "Farther back!"

"Fine, my pet name for you in ALO"

"Argo the Cat" said Floating Argo instantly.

"Now!" I said. "Die!" But before I moved, she spoke.

"One more! Please!"

"You have had two chances already." I stated.

"If I a, the fake one, then it won't matter"

"Fine" I said.

"As far back as you can" she pleaded.

"On what floor did my siblings first die on?" I asked.

"Floor one" said the Imposter and Floating Argo in unison.

"What boss did I defeat to protect the real Argo"

"Gleam Eyes" again, together they spoke.

"Where did your whiskers originate from."

"In the beta, I tried the Martial Arts Skill Quest, and the monk painted whiskers on my face, I never completed the quest, so throughout the beta I had the whiskers. Once in the real game, I painted them on to keep the look of the Rat". The not floating one answered.

"Grr!" Growled the floating one. Then, she turned back into the floating woman with red eyes. I saw her name was [Hollow Cupid Servant]. I smiled, and leaped towards my new foe, slicing her in half with one swing. After she burst into blue polygons, I walked back to Alesha, who was bleeding out on the ground still.

"Damn" I said. I knelt beside her, and put her head in my lap. She was unconscious. Tilting her head back, I poured a HP potion down her throat. After a moment, she jerked up, gasping. "Sorry" I said, standing and walking away.

"Wait!" Argo commanded. I ignored her. "Tryth, you dumbass! Wait!"

I stopped walking. "Why" it was not a question, it was a demand.

She gasped. "What is wrong?"

At this, I started my pace again, towards Greece.

"Tryth! I swear…. answer me!"

Again, ignored. I heard a whistling sound, and I realized too last what it was. I felt her small throwing knife slice into my left shoulder. I grunted in pain, and stopped walking. I saw my HP drop by about an eighth. I reached behind me, and pulled the small projectile out of my shoulder. My right fingers were coated in blood as I studied the knife. 'Oh shit' I thought when I realized that it had a paralyzing agent on the blade. I fell over, unable to move.

My head crashed on a rock, and my vision blurred as the pain shot through my skull. Blood filled my vision. 'Today is just a bad day' I thought. I felt myself scooped up, but my eyes were out of focus, so I couldn't see where we were headed. After about ten minutes of walking, the color scheme changed from white and black, to browns thrown into the mix. I as long heard the sound of voices, people bartering. Then, the lighting became dim as a door opened. After hushed voices spoke, I was carried upwards, through another room, and lain upon a pillowy surface. I tasted something like honey being drizzled down my throat.

The paralyze status disappeared. I sat up, still unable to see. Without speaking, I opened my inventory, and went to the spot where I always kept ten HP potions. I grabbed one, and drunk it. My vision restored, I took the sight in front of me in. The room was simple, having no draperies or paintings. The wood was dark, and a small flickering light was all the illuminated the room. Beside my bed were Argo,Yuuki, and Alesha. Without speaking, or noticing their somber expressions, I stood, and headed for the door. I felt a soft, yet firm grip wrap around my torso. "Yuuki" I said without looking behind me, my voice flat. "Please let me go".

"Mm mm" she said, pressing her body against my back to get a better grip around me. "I won't!"

I sighed, not fighting. "Please"

"Why?" She demanded, almost crushing me with her arms.

I didn't answer, and after a few seconds, Argo did. "I am guessing He sent you a pm, right?"

I hung my head, not answering aloud.

"And it said that if you kill yourself, that he won't release the nukes, right?"

Again, no answer.

"Goddamnit, Tryth!" She yelled. She appeared in front of me, and slapped me hard. I took it, without doing anything. "I thought you would come to me if you needed anything!"

"Where is my sword" I said this like a demand, not a question.

"Liz took it, being a smith, she doesn't need permission. But that doesn't matter!" She stomped her foot. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want this to happen" I said simply, my voice still flat.

"You…..insufferable…..little…..cocky… bastard!" Her words hit me hard, but my expression remained neutral. "How dare you? You want to die, is that it?"

"Yuuki, let go of me now" I said.

"No!"

"Fine" there was an explosion of light, and both of my friends plus my silent sister fell backwards, yelling in surprise, and clutching their eyes. My subskill had stunned them. I then walked briskly out of the room. I looked both ways along the corridor, and chose the side that I saw had stairs. I walked down the stairs, into a small tavern. I then walked out into the cold air. I then looked up at the setting sun, and using it as my compass, started heading north, towards the mountains.

When the bright light faded, Argo lept up, and looked around the room. He saw Alesha and Yuuki on the ground, still recovering their sight. Tryth was gone.

"Tryth!" Called Angelica she saw him standing on the clif. She stood behind him, about ten meters away. "Don't do it!"

"Why" she heard his soft reply. She took a few steps forward.

"You already know the answer to that."

She then noticed the massive scarlet stain on his white clothing, with a tear in the left shoulder.

"So?" He said.

"Where did you get that tear?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Argo threw a knife at me".

'What?!' She thought, but didn't stop her slow walking pace towards him. The air was still, and the tension high. "Why did she do that?"

"Because I tried to run away".

"To do this?"

"Yes".

She was now at his side, staring over the rocky cliff side, onto the plains below. "Want to talk about anything?"

"Not really."

"Why haven't you jumped yet?"

"I just cannot." He sat down, and she copied his movements. "If I had the courage to do it, I would have." He shook his head forlornly.

"No, you have courage because you didn't jump" she said, voice still soft and kind.

"Why? If I die, the nukes won't be sent"

"That is probably a lie" was her response.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because, Death Gun hates Sinon, and Argo, and myself just as much as you. If you die, it will give him a reason to set the nukes off."

"But what if I kill him, and the missiles still get shot?"

"What if what if what if! What if the missiles shoot themselves, because the movie Terminator has just come to life? What if you all of a sudden become God, and can do whatever? What if!" She pulled him closer, arm around his shoulders. She rest his head on her shoulder, and stroked his hair soothingly. He didn't react, but at least he wasn't about to jump. They sat there, in companionable silence.

"Tryth!" She heard his name being shouted from behind them. They both stood, and saw Argo approaching, a fire in her eyes. Closely tailing her was Yuuki and Alesha. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to commit suicide" he said truthfully.

"That wasn't what it looked like!"

"Angelica came, and I realized I don't have the guts to jump. We were sitting like that for almost five minutes."

Her anger seemed to disappear. "Fine. If you love her….then I cannot stop you" she turned to leave.

"YOU!" Another voice, this one unfamiliar.


	63. Chapter 63-And Another One

**Well, sorry I haven't posted in a while, been figuring out how to do damage control with my last few chapters! Thanks to Failtastic Belt for all of your help! Thanks to Thunderwolf7226 for being so loyal and sticking with me! All of you guys reading are the reason I keep writing!**

The owner of the loud voice, was a male version of the earlier mob, again, called [Hollow Cupid Servant]. It's pale skin and red eyes making it seem as though this came right from a nightmare, not the cod of love. I started scrolling through my inventory, looking for a spare sword that I can actually wield, and waiting for what I hoped wouldn't happen, to happen. I didn't have anything that matched my meager Str, just a bunch of broadsword drops, so I withdrew a combat knife. The blade glinted menacingly, a bright silver in contrast to the usual black. I backhanded it, and got into a ready position. Just as It happened.

The girls, who were staring at the [Servant], now, as one, turned towards me, anger in their eyes. And if this was a cartoon, I swear it would have changed to pink hearts. All three approached me, and I backed away.

"Oh, Tryth! I love you! Think about our future together!" Called Angelica.

"No, me and him are soul mates! We will always be together!" Snapped Argo.

"What do you know about soul mates? You have been looking for those damned prostitutes to take up your time!"

"You dare?" Argo pounced on Angelica, and both rolled away, wrestling. Alesha was still walking towards me seductively.

"Oh Tryn…. since we aren't technically related…." she stroked a circle on my chest with her finger.

"Damnit! Please stop!" I said.

"Oh but why, Tryn? You will make out with Liz but not me?"

'I knew that was going to come back to haunt me'. "Give me a moment to get a grip on this situation" I started walking away.

"Tryth!" 'Oh shit'. A certain pink haired blacksmith tackle hugged me.

"Hello Liz, could you please not break my back"

"Oh Tryth! Take me! Take me right here, right now!"

'What' I though, "WHAT?!" I said. "Why?" 'Oh wait, I know why'.

"Because! I love you like no other can!" She buried her face in my chest. "Take me!" I heard muffled, and she moved her hands to undress.

I stood hurriedly. "Nonononoo! Umm," I saw her hurt expression. "Tonight" she nodded, suddenly happy again.

"I will get us rooms at the inn!" She ran off. 'Good, one less to deal with. I felt two arms wrap across my chest from under my arms.

"Guess who?" She said.

"My death?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope! You one true love!" Teen Alesha came out from behind me, pressing her body against mine. "Please! Take me!"

I tried the same tactic as I did on Liz. "Tonight?"

"Yes! I will get us a room at the inn!" And she as well ran off.

'I want to die' I thought to myself. I turned towards Arogo and Angelica, as they were wrestling. 'They can't actually hurt each other' I then faced the demon who started this. "Hey, asswipe!" I called to it. Its scarlet eyes turned toward me, with a hatred that cannot be expressed in words.

It floated towards me, while I stood ready with my knife. "You killed my sister… you will pay!" He said. He then waved his arms, and said something in another language I didn't speak. The two wrestling girls stopped fighting. They both stood, and faced me, sadness and anger in their eyes.

'Oh shit' I thought again. "You don't love me…." said Angelica, a tear falling down her fair face. "You….."

"If I cannot have you, no one can!" Shouted Argo, and she rushed me. I crouched lower, as she brought her knife to meet me….

There was a loud clang as an iron clad body blocked for me. "Bronts!" I said in relief.

"Hey, I will keep the speedster busy" he grunted as Argo tried in vain to slice through him.

"Same here!" Shouted Angelica, unsheathing both of her blades. 'Damn! This knife won't stand five hits from her!' I thought wildly. I started to back away. As I was about to turn tail and full out run, someone leapt over me. It was that weird masked guy, Wraith. Using his katana, he swung at Angelica as fast as she was, forcing her to back away.

"Mind if I drop in" said his deep bass voice.

"Not at all!" I exclaimed.

He fiddled with his menu, sending me a trade request. It said "1 gold for Shadow Reaper".

"How did you get that?" I demanded.

"I mugged the pink haired one on her way to an inn. She was skipping, saying that "tonight is going to be awesome", or something like that. Sorry, but my Japanese sucks."

I hit the confirm button, and the rapier appeared in my hands. I smiled with the familiar weight. "Hey, considering I doubt you can stand more than five seconds against Angelica, you take the monster, I take her. Just give me all of the gold and drops!"

"Great, I didn't feel like losing today" he ran to fight his target.

Angelica and I had a staring match. "Please don't make me hurt you" I said, just loud enough for her to hear me.

"I cannot let you live with that whore as a wife!" She barked.

I sighed, and caught a quick glance at Argo who was still trying to beat her way through Bronts. "Yeah, she is pretty annoying. But, I have learned to deal with it."

"So you are okay with her hiring prostitutes and being a total bitch behind your back?" She seemed angry. "What kind of-"

I interrupted her. "NO" I roared. "I am not okay with that." I sighed again "but I understand why!"I put my hand to my face. "She is sad, and lonely without me, so she tries and find a way to forget. I cannot hold that against her." I looked Angelica in the eyes. "All I ever wanted was to ,are you all happy. If it will make you happy….. then you can kill me" I slumped my shoulders in defeat.

"What?" She asked.

I grabbed my rapier in a reverse grip, turned it into a knife, and placed the blade on my stomach. "You were my first friend… and I owe you everything… goodbye" I tensed, ready to stab myself.

"No!"

"No!" Yelled the two girls in unison. Angelica reached my first, taking away the knife, flinging it on the ground, and tackling me. "Don't you dare!" She whispered. I wrapped my arms around her while she lay upon me. She started crying. "Don't you d-d-dare!"

She got off me, her green eyes geared up. I stood, and picked up my knife.

"Ready" I asked my long time partner, looking at at Wraith who was getting asswupped by the [Hollow Cupid Servant].

"Ready" she nodded.

We both took off, not needing to speak, having fought together in similar situations for years. I appeared behind it with a new skill, [Rush], which basically allows me to teleport to anywhere I can see. I then sliced as fast and furiously as I could with [Shining Blades], sending the demon's blood everywhere. As it moved forward from my onslaught, Angelica smashed deeper towards me with [Vorpal Strike], and dealing sweet damage. While I wreaked havoc behind, she finished it off with [Starburst Stream], annihilating it in seconds.

We landed, me panting heavily from the strain of my unique skill. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders to stabilize myself. She guided me over to where Argo and Bronts were watching. "Well" I said, still panting, but slower, "that worked."

"You pretended to try and kill yourself so we would snap out of that things spell?" Asked Argo. I nodded.

"Hey, can you please explain the rest of it to everyone. I really don't feel like it" she laughed.

"Of course."

At the inn, we were all seated around a large circular table. "So" Argo began the lecture. "Those Cupid Servant thingys are able to make people of the opposite sex feel and see things, so, Tryth thought I died, and we were all unable to keep our hands off him." I giggled at her choice of words. "And to continue!" She shot me a pointed look. "What comes in Greece is a lot worse. In Greece, we have to fight two bosses, Cupid god of people falling in love, or something like that" again, I giggled at her. "Shut up!" She wailed. "My specialties do not lay in mythology! Ugh! Now, after Cupid, we fight Zeus, lord of the sky's." She sat down, but didn't finish talking. "And, he is really good at fighting pretty much everything!"

"Well, that is awesome!" I said enthusiastically. Everyone laughed. "We may have had our asses kicked today, and probably will tomorrow, but tonight? Tonight we have fun!" I raised my glass.

"Cheers!" Cried everyone in unison.


	64. Chapter 64-The Untold Tale

**Thank you, to Failtastic Belt for catching many many many (you get the point) mistakes that I made in previous chapters, I am very grateful.**

 **this chapter is dedicated to a friend at school, who wanted me to add a certain race into the mix. Also, thanks to Thunderwolf7226 for being there for idea bouncing.**

It was just Yuuki, Argo, and myself inside the room I rented for the night. We stood, in an uncomfortable silence. I studied the wooden walls, and the two twin size beds, with white blankets. I studied the candle, flickering on the table. I forced myself to look Argo in the eye. She too, was trying to avoid being the first to speak. "Yuuki, please give us a moment" I said, pulling about one hundred gold in a bag, and giving it to her. "Go buy yourself something" she nodded solemnly, took the money, and walked out. For another five minutes, we stood there, looking everywhere but at each other.

"Tryth, I'm sorry-" she started.

I put my hand behind her head, and pulled her towards me, lowering my lips to hers. I felt her stiffen at the sudden move. I stood still, waiting for her to respond to the kiss, our lips still touching. I backed away, when she didn't respond. "I disrespected our marriage by kissing Liz. I am sorry." I sat down on the bed behind me. I spoke with my head in my hands. "We both did shit things. I think… I think did worse, considering I already guessed at your actions" I looked up at her. She had tears in her eyes. "But nothing, I repeat, nothing that happens now, can make me not love you" I stood, and grabbed her upper arms. "You got me through Sword Art Online. You will help me get through Arcane Forces Online, I know it, because I have faith in you, that you have faith in me" I wrapped her in a hug. "I love you".

I felt her unsteady breath, and shuddering body as sobs wracked her. She cried in my arms, face pressed against my chest. I stood there, letting her cry it all out. I felt like crying too, but I had to be strong, for her. After her sobs became few and far between, I held her out at arm's length. I took her white hood off her head, and brushed some damp blonde hair out of her eyes. Her avatar's bright blue eyes were wet as she stared at me. I slowly lowered my face down to hers, and pecked her cheek. "I am here for you. Now, and forever". As I was backing away, she grabbed my face with both hands, and pulled me into a deep kiss. Her tongue begged entrance into my mouth, and after receiving its wish, played tag with mine.

I cut the moment short, backing away before it escalated. "Too soon?" She asked.

"Nope, it's just after nine pm, and you need to log out and get some food" she giggled at my statement.

"There's my Shadow Reaper!" She laughed as she pressed the button that shot her out of this world, and into the real one.

As soon as she left, Yuuki barged in. She had a few tears in her eyes. "Damn, you are good at speeches" she said.

"Yuuki, were you eavesdropping?" I asked, a deadly steel in my voice.

"Yup!" She exclaimed without fear. She strutted over to the other bed, and sat down, looking expectantly at me with those scarlet eyes. "Sooo, anything you want to talk about?"

"Not to someone who cannot obey personal privacy!" I lay down on the bed, facing the ceiling.

"Hey, considering tomorrow is Monday, and the gang isn't likely to log in until the afternoon, how about we go out and find a replacement for that cloak of yours? The one Argo ruined?"

"You know, that isn't a bad idea" I said. "But, you are starting to sound like Liz, you need to watch your words!"

"Don't insult me like that!" She pouted.

"Don't be a dumbass"

"Damnit! You have a point!" She said, laying down. "G'night"

"''Night" I put out the candle.

After Yuuki fell asleep, I got up, and crept out the room dark room through the window. I jumped out, rolling on the ground to avoid getting hurt from the fall. I stood up, and walked towards the forest for some late-night grinding, if I could find something to kill. On the way, I felt something following me. Without breaking pace, I changed direction, towards a nearby building, marked "Smith". I walked in.

"Hello" greeted the npc. "How may I help you?"

"Someone is following me" I told the computer. "I am using this place as an ambush spot."

"Ahh, okay" he seemed to understand.

'I love the fact that the npc's can't do anything'. I backed into a corner, and blended with the wall. As soon as I was ready, the door opened, and the bell rang. A black cloaked figure entered. 'No player cursor, odd' I thought to myself. 'I know that Angelica and Bronts went out to do something, but I don't know what… might my shadow be one of them?' As the black cloaked figure surveyed the room, and I felt its eyes brush over me, it spoke in a distorted voice. "Do you have a back exit?".

"Yes, right through there" said the npc, gesturing through a door. "That leads to my storage, and on the other side of the room is the back door."

The figure walked that way. This time, the watched is watching the watcher. I felt an odd presence coming from the thing in front of me, but I ignored it, focusing on my Stealth. After the figure seemed to guess that it lost me, it headed towards the forest. Perplexed, I followed. After a few dozen feet, I caught up silently, and made my surprise attack.

I used each hand to grab its arms, keeping it from drawing a weapon. It grunted in surprise, and lashed out with a foot straight backwards, catching me in the stomach. I backed away, winded. It turned to face me, and drew a one handed sword, about three and a half feet long. It's curvature looked like a Greek leaf sword, except this was longer, and more intricate. The handle guard was similar to that of a cutlass, and the handle was small, and couldn't be wielded with two hands. With a practiced motion, I quickly opened my menu, and withdrew my rapier.

"Why are you following me?" I demanded, my voice low, yet forceful.

"Nemo vestrum, hominis!" It said, in a different language.

'Wait… I recognize that… it's Latin, and the fairies from ALO and the elves from SAO speak it…'

I smiled, and opened up my menu, changing the language setting to 'Latin'. In the new language, I said, "So, elf. Why are you tailing me?"

It seemed genuinely surprised. "You speak the Ancient Language?" The voice was now feminine.

"Yes. I speak many languages. That does not answer my question! Tell me elf, or I shall paint the white ground red with your blood!"

"I….. I need your help" she lowered the sword, and took the hood off. Her light brown hair spilled down her back. Her face was lightly tanned, and had a certain glow about it. Her eyes were a sky blue, and right below that, her cheeks were lightly freckled. Her ears were, obviously, pointed, and only about half an inch longer than normal ears.

I stared at her, and after a moment regained my composure. "Do you speak Japanese, my Elfish is a little rusty."

Her eyes met mine, "Hai".

I nodded, and switched my language settings back. "Why do you need my help?"

"My people are under siege by the Dark Elves, and I need your help driving them back" she sheathed her sword at her waist. "You carry the Shadow Reaper, you are the Chosen One to drive Darkness from the land" she looked so hopeful with those eyes.

'Gods, I cannot say no' I thought, 'damnit'. "Can this wait until tomorrow, when I have more people to help me?"

"No" she shook her head, "We have reports saying that they will attack at first light."

"Goddamnit!" I said aloud. "Fine. Let's go" I said.

She nodded, and pulled out a crystal. After grabbing my hand, we disappeared.

I spawned within a valley. Before me, was a jungle that seemed so wild, yet so beautiful at the same time. All around me, the sound of peace echoed along the valley. A waterfall a few kilometers away sent water gushing down into a river that lead throughout the ditch. 'This looks just like Rivendell, from Lord Of The Rings!' I thought. I turned around, and saw the city.

In itself, its grandeur was larger than any modern city. The tall , lightly colored stone buildings, and archways looking like something out of a fairy tale. 'Ha, out of a fairy tale! That's a good one, Tryn!' I thought. Before me, was a bridge, with an open gate. The entrance into the city.


	65. Chapter 65-Elfish

**Sorry for not posting, I have been very occupied all week.**

 **a shoutout (again, I know, sorry) to Failtastic Belt, for being my new Beta! Yay! Now my writing should go from horrid to sub par!**

 **speaking of Failtastic Belt, he has a story, called "Sun Dancer", it's a sao fic, with an oc as the mc, like mine, but way different. Give it a try! Just search up his name in the search bar, and read his fic, I personally love it!**

 **if you have any questions about the story, just pm or leave a review, and I will get back to you asap.**

 **Thanks to all who have reviewed!**

We passed under the stone archway into the city, the sun hanging low. My leather boots thumped on the flagstones, signaling my approach to all inhabitants. Some of the townspeople stared, ears as sharp as knives, whispering among themselves. Walking past them I could hear snippets.

"That's our savior? He's a human!"

"We shouldn't go against the Elder's decisions!"

"But a human?"

"Yes, this is preposterous! Humans are nothing but trouble."

My face reddened at the remarks that followed, many involving obscene language. I followed the elf who brought me here, staring at the back of her head intensely.

"Hey" I said, catching her attention. "Why are these people so hostile?"

We continued walking for a while, waiting as she phrased her response. "I will tell you later, I promise, but we must focus on other matters."

I didn't answer to that, but felt dissatisfied with the answer. That being said, I knew I wouldn't get anymore until "later". She led me into one of the medieval buildings, its design was smoother than most. Contoured, the stone walls were angled like lizard scales.

The inside was just as uniform as the outside, looking like it was taken straight out of a Shakespearean play. She beckoned me towards a staircase, leading down. Once we reached the lower levels, I realized that despite the lack of torches, the room was well lit.

"Hey, umm, why am I able to see?" I asked her, my voice echoing through the stairway.

"Because" she said without turning. "The walls give off a faint light, a spell cast by our ancestors long ago"

"Ahh" I said, understanding.

At the bottom of the stairs was a wooden door, basic in design. She opened it, strolling inside. Stepping through, the door closed behind us, without aid. The interior stayed consistent with previous floors. Seven stone pillars stood, arranged in a circle. Each support spaced about ten meters from the center, surrounding a basin of crystal blue water.

Beside the basin stood an elf, staring into its reflective surface. Closing in, I noticed a bright circle in the pool, appearing in the shape of a moon, a full moon to be specific. I looked above him, to see if there was some sort of skylight or window showing the moon, but there wasn't.

"This cannot be" he muttered, black hair draping over his face as he stared into the basin. The gold circlet on his head resembled a crown, marking him as nobility of some sort. "This cannot be."

My guide stepped forward, arms around her chest, twitching nervously. "My lord, I brought Him" she said, voice timid.

Glancing up from the basin, he looked at her, His face was blank, his purple eyes filled with disbelief. Without hesitation, he ran to me. His expression was of arrogance, reminding me of a scientist gazing upon a rat. He walked around me, poking and prodding various parts of me. I stood straight, taking the pokes with a straight face, yet seething inside. 'What the hell man?' I thought as he backed away, looking at me.

He then approached my escort, and slapped her. The smack echoed throughout the room. She fell back, stunned and hurt by the sudden strike.

I ran to her side, catching her before she fell. My arms buckled, her head almost hitting the stone floor.

"You never told me," he growled, "that he was a Human!"

He raised his foot over her, hanging it as she laid in my arms. Putting her down, I blocked the stomp with my arm. I felt the leather sole, groaning as I stopped it.

"You dare challenge my authority, this is my land!" the royal snapped, his gaze locked on mine.

"I have no idea what you have against me," I stared back, "but if you're willing to hurt one of your own for it, I can't let it continue."

"I will not be made weak by a mortal like you!" He walked back to the basin, drawing a sword from the ground. Steel gleamed, released from its sheathe. Resembled the blade of my escort, I stood my ground.

I drew the rapier at my waist, the blackened edge draining the light from the room.

"You humans took our land," the noble reasoned, "killed our people, just because you envied our power! To think you can just walk in here and take what little we have left?!" He rushed at me, swinging wildly.

I sighed, blocking his clumsy overhead strike. Left wide open, I kicked him hard in the gut. He fell backwards, coughing from the strike.

"Hey," I called to my guide, "I didn't catch your name, mine's Tryth."

"Lynda" she said, her voice quivering as she rose to her feet. "Please don't hurt him! He's our king!"

"Lynda," I commanded, "wait by the door, I'm going to teach this brat a lesson."

I heard nothing for a moment, and then an intake of breath. "Now!" I shouted.

Defeated, she stepped back, leaving room for us. The king glared at me, pointing as he rose to full height.

"You dare to command my subjects?! You primates are like a disease!". He stood, panting slightly.

I saw that he was about to attack again. "Don't even try," raising my sword at him.

"What?" He asked, fear in his eyes.

"you suck at fighting," I scolded, "your attacks are clumsy…easy to read. Your footwork's so bad, I'm surprised you haven't tripped over your own shoes."

Outraged by my comments, he tightened his grip.

"I could beat you without a blade," I warned, "don't even try."

Staring hatefully, his mind wracked with uncertainty. After what felt like minutes of staring, he lowered his sword. He scowled with indignation, furrowing his brow as he sheathed his sword.

"Now" I continued, "what were you doing?" Leering at him, it was a demand.

"He was meditating" answered Lynda. "He's our most powerful Mage!"

I nodded to her, looking back to the king. "Earlier you said 'this cannot be', what were you talking about?"

"The Dark Elves are attacking tomorrow," he grumbled, "it came as a new prediction…but, they were supposed to attack in a month! Not a day!" He responded, now compliant.

"Okay then, we will get ready for tomorrow." I stated.

"Umm, Tryth?" asked Lynda, "how'll we do that?"

"Easy" I assured, nodding to the king. "How many troops do you have at your disposal?"

"About ten thousand elves-at-arms, with about four thousand of them being trained archers."

"And how many specialized soldiers?" The light ripples of the pool reflected on the ceiling, a pale blue light.

"Fifty rangers," he replied, "they're our best marksmen…trained for hundreds of years. We also have a hundred phalanx, our elite guard."

"Hmmm" a plan started to hatch. "Okay, any underground tunnels?"

"Yes," the king nodded, "we have a network for evacuating the city, but why? We have no hope of winning in an all out conflict!" He seemed perplexed.

I smiled wickedly, and explained my plan to him in detail. After I finished, he perked up. "That might actually work."

I opened my menu, sending a message for Argo. "Honey? Round up the gang, and get Kazuto to find my coordinates. Have him warp you to me (it shouldn't be too hard, considering him a computer nerd). I have a quest that could use your expertise."

"Tryth," questioned Lynda, "do you really think it will work?"

I smiled. "Once my friends get here, your enemies won't stand a chance in hell!" I laughed wickedly. "Man, this'll be fun!" I then turned back towards the king. "I want you to give me full command of your army, no exceptions."

His purple eyes flared, a deep red ring appearing. "I am the king!" he objected, "I will not hand over my elves to the likes of-"

I cut him off before he could finish, smiling softly as I tap the hilted rapier. His face turned sullen, nodding without a word.

I grinned. "Good, hey Lynda, I want you to lead me to the center of town, somewhere I can address the people."

She nodded. "Right this way," she gestured to the door. The wooden frame opened, Lynda taking the lead. After walking up the stairs for what seemed like forever, she stopped at another oak door. She stepped out of the way, and I walked through it

Held over fifty feet in the air, a stunning view of the city was presented to me. Ignoring the view, I walked to the ledge. I saw people going about their daily lives, walking to and fro, not paying attention.

"Hey, Lynda? How do I broadcast my voice all over the city?"

She came up by my side, and closed her eyes, concentrating. Seconds later, she placed her hand on the back of my neck, and whispered "Speak."

The moment her hand touched, I felt a powerful surge of energy. I felt my chest expand, my throat clearing, confidence boosting.

"Elvish citizens" I started. My voice rang true and clear throughout the city. 'Damnit, I hate speeches. Well, don't sound too cheesy'. "Your king has left me in command of the militia. I am ordering martial law, and demanding a full evacuation of the city grounds. All people are to head under, to the tunnels."

There was a large uproar at this, but I forged onwards. "I want all who are able bodied to come to the center courtyard, where you will receive weapons and armor. We will push these sons of bitches back, and away from this land!"

I walked away, breaking contact with Lynda. I went down the stairs and into the courtyard, many square meters large. Big enough to hold a thousand people. 'Damnit, he said ten thousand men at arms, this won't work.' I had Lynda give me that broadcasting power, and I told everyone to go right outside of the city to the north. As I walked in that direction, I heard grumbles about me being human, and not being able to make up my mind.

The elves were taller than me, a little over two meters, and made me feel small, and weak, but I shoved these feelings away as the plains of the north spread before me.

I heard teleporting sounds behind me, and smiled before I turned. "Just in time!" I exclaimed, clasping my hands in glee.

"Fashionably late as always," Argo winked, "you look like you've got a plan."

"I do!" I said confidently, "now then, your roles!"

All of them stood there, looking at me expectantly, eager to assist. "Pardon me for being so abrupt, but we have a siege to halt."

"You kidding? You know I love a good challenge," Yuuki smiled, her red eyes filled with fire.

"Argo," I commanded, "you're reconnaissance. There is an army attacking from I am guessing the south, since that's the city's weakest point. I need you to be my eyes and ears."

Argo nodded, pulling on her green cowl as she ran off into the woods.

"Yuuki, Angelica, and Alesha. You're going to be our field commanders. I will give you your battalions later. Sinon, you know the stereotype about elves being obsessed with bows?"

The blue haired sniper nodded, smiling softly.

"You're in charge of everything long ranged."

She looked like a dog given a bone as she walked away towards the archery zone being set up.

"Silica, I need a complete map of the city, with all underground passages, and all floor of every building clearly marked. Bronts, are you any good with a polearm?"

"Oh, absolutely!"

"Good, you are in charge of the phalanx. Wraith, I will talk with you in private. Liz, you have the hardest job out of all of us, and I doubt you will be able to finish it" I looked at the little smith.

"Whatever you give me, I can do in spades!" She smiled confidently.

"Good, there are ten thousand soldiers in dire need of weapon upgrades. See to it that they're set."

Liz paled. "T-t-ten thousand?"

"Yup! It might be a hell of a lot easier if you bring your other smithing friends."

A look of confidence came over her. "Ten thousand weapons. A true test for a master blacksmith…I accept!" She left as well, moving quickly for the nearest forge available. Within moments, it was just Isac and myself.

"Wraith," I addressed, "you will be our secret weapon."

"But how? I'm among the lowest leveled here."

"And I will fix that."

Even with the white mask on, the katana wielder looked puzzled, so I elaborated.

"Did you realize that in this game, if you win a duel against a higher leveled player, you get a crap ton of xp?"

"No, I didn't." His expression lightened, catching on to what I'm suggesting.

"Well then, let's begin" I sent him a duel request.


	66. Chapter 66-Battle Plans

**thanks to my beta, Failtastic Belt for reallllllllyyyyyy improving my writing!**

 **thanks to Guest, and Thunderwolf7226 for leaving a review!**

 **i would love to hear from you, even if it is hate mail!**

After Wraith and I sparred for a half hour, every able-bodied fighter was waiting outside the city. Some green plated elven knights set a podium, ready for my use. Standing over six feet in height, the platform would make it possible to be seen above the crowd. I stepped up onto the wooden platform, fidgeting uncomfortably, Lynda beside me.

Looking at the sea of elves, my heart raced with anxiety, a cold chill as their eyes turned. After pushing the feeling aside, I gave Lynda a nod. My guide closed her eyes, placing her hand on the back of my neck. As the familiar cold pulse spread over my body, her power channeled through me. 'Okay, here goes something… hopefully'.

"Fellow warriors," I started, my voice booming across the crowd. "I understand fully that I am a human, and what humans have done to you."

At this, the crowd leered, resenting my presence. "But, I don't care," I announced. The mob quieted in surprise. "I am not here to steal what's yours. I am here to defeat your enemy, and then get the hell out of here."

"Why?" Demanded a voice that I couldn't pinpoint. "Why should we trust the likes of you?"

"You shouldn't" was my response. The crowd fell silent, "You have no reason to trust me…but, our only chance of making it, is if we work together." 'Come on, Argo, now would be a good time.' I was waiting for her situation report, enemy numbers to be precise.

Right when the silence was about to get awkward, a message arrived. Opening the menu, it read: "Tryth, bad news! These 'Dark Elves' or whatever they are? Yea, there are thousands of them! I'd say approximately a hundred thousand. As your wife, I beg of you, get out of there! This isn't even dealing with the one who got us trapped here."

Smiling at the news, as though it was good and not the horrid news that it truly was, I continued my speech. "Your enemies out number you ten to one." The whole field erupted in a roar as the mob tried to deny the fact in shock. "But, if we all pitch in, we will be victorious! I promise this, with a casualty rate under ten percent."

"How in the hell are each of us supposed to kill ten of them?" Yelled the same voice as before.

"Easy" I smiled, letting the slight pause set them on edge. "Guerrilla Warfare."

The massive mob was silent for a moment, and then a different voice peeped up. "What is that?"

'You have to be kidding me!', I screamed in my head. 'Not heard of… ugh!' "Hit-and-run tactics. Surprise your enemy, surround them, and then after you get a few kills in, run before they regroup."

"We elves fight honorably, and will not resort to trickery!" Yelled one.

'I knew this would happen!' I pointed to the skeptic and said, "Please back away from the owner of that voice so I may converse with him directly."

The crowd obeyed, giving him a meter of room in all directions. "Do you have a family?" I asked.

"What kind of a question is that?" the elf barked, "Why sh-"

"Answer him," boomed another voice. I looked to my right to see the king walking up. "He has my authority. So by disrespecting him, you disrespect me! Answer him nave!"

The lord of the elves came beside me and whispered in my ear. "The only reason I am backing you is to keep my kingdom. Do not think for a moment I actually support you, human." The king stepped beside me, facing the mob.

"I wouldn't dare, your majesty." The elf bowed his head.

I smiled, looking back to the isolated elf. "Your answer?"

"Yes. A wife, two sons, and a daughter".

"Do you love your family?"

This question was quickly answered. "What kind of a question is that? Of course I do! How dare you think otherwise?!"

"I was just making sure. Would you rather see your wife, children enslaved? Possibly til they die? Or would you take the honor of saving them with every move you make?"

"When you phrase it like that…" his head lowered sheepishly.

"Now, if I may continue" I cleared my throat. "I am putting my finest fighters in command of your legions. The human in charge should already be with your elven commander. All who have a human in charge, raise your standards."

Five flags were raised almost immediately. "Good, all who don't have their banner raised, join with your nearest bannered battalion. Bow-masters, phalanx, break away and train. The rest of you, stay here."

As the movement ceased, I looked at the somewhat even three squads. "Good, now your commanders will take over from here for basic battle strategy plans. That is all."

I stepped away from Lynda, feeling her enchanting powers slip. As I walked away, I said to Lynda over my shoulder, "You are my secretary. I want a full head count of everyone in the main force."

"Already done," Lynda confirmed, "nine thousand exactly, split into three sections."

"Good. Now, I want my commanders, and each elven commander to meet me right here in thirty minutes"

"Yes sir," she nodded, walking off to relay orders. I rubbed my eyes wearily. 'Great, the stress of command is already setting in. At least this is only for a few days at most.'

I stood, waiting, and planning. 'This will take great cunning to win. Even Guerilla tactics won't be able to handle a force six digits big. Outnumbered, we can't afford a head-on engagement. Damn, this is hard! Just imagine a chessboard…. okay, I am starting with less than one tenth of the enemy's force…. How would I win?' I sat on the cool earth, and thought.

"Umm, Tryth?"

I snapped out of my trance to find Lynda beside me, hands clasped behind her back respectively. "Hey," I greeted, "what's up?"

"Umm," she stammered, "the back of your cloak is…bloody." she seemed embarrassed to speak the last part.

"Oh," I said, "I am sorry, I forgot." blushing slightly. "Now I must seem like some Neanderthal, walking around in tattered and ruined rags I call clothes!" I laughed aloud.

"Umm, here." She withdrew a long green garment from behind her. When I took it from her, I studied it. It was dark green, the color of the grass in a forest, where the ground is shrouded in shadow. It was a tunic, with darker and deeper shaded trousers and a half-cape draped over one shoulder. The cloth was softer than silk, yet flexible, like polyester, or spandex.

I equipped it, leaving my destroyed set in my inventory to dispose of later. The fabric clung to my body tightly, like a second skin. Despite the warmth it provided, I felt the gentle breeze blow around me. I crouched, testing its fabric. I quickly found that it moved with me, not bunching up anywhere on my body. This was made for great mobility and comfort.

The half cape was draped over my left shoulder and along half my back. It obscured most of my rapier's black sheath. 'Damnit, I wish that thing was green!' I thought, and before my eyes, the rapier changed into the same shade as the tunic.

"Wow, thanks Lynda!" I said to the elf standing before me.

"Do you like it?" She asked modestly.

I kept a blank face as I spoke, "No, I hate it. It is itchy all over, and feels like it is strangling me, gripping my body way too tight."

She turned melancholy at this, so I lightened up. "Man, you don't know how to take a tease! I love this! The craftsmanship is truly superior to anything us Humans are capable of!"

She raised her head. "Really?"

"Oh, hell yes! Man, almost feels as though I'm not wearing anything at all!"

She blushed at that image.

"Hrmph, so humans aren't the only perverts out here!" I teased. Before she could continue, I sat down, and gestured for her to do the same.

Before I could say another word, people started walking up to us, my friends in command, along with one elven advisor for each. "Sit friends!" I said to the lot of them. "We have done, and will do, enough standing for a lifetime."

My comrades obeyed, and crossed their legs, although the elven commanders looked a little indignant.

"So what's up, Robin Hood?" Asked Yuuki.

"Well, if you were to attack a force of over one hundred thousand with a small force of fifteen thousand, what would you do?" I ignored the jibe about my new attire.

"Give up," said all of them in unison.

"Exactly." I said, matter of factly.

"Wait, wait, wait," Angelica waved, "hang on one moment!" Shaking her head. "Are you telling me that you are giving up?"

"Nope," I said, without any further explanation.

"Then why have you called us here?" Demanded one of the elven generals.

"Because, I am going to figure out a way to win this battle. It all hangs on one thing though… and that is them attacking from the south, the weakest part of the city.' "To the south, there were little walls, and ramparts to defend from. The west had mountains, with the north and east covered by a thirty plus meter stone wall, multiple meters thick, with many small slotted windows for archers to hide in. Any attack on the north by an approaching army would be suicide."

"Why attack from the south?" Asked a different general.

"That, I will reveal later, but now, I need to dish out orders. Lynda? Do elves like tea?" The young woman was startled by the question. "Umm, well, not all of us, but generally, yes."

"Good, can you get us some tea please?"

"Yes sir," she walked away hurriedly with her task.

Facing the others sitting, I spoke. "Sinon, how far can the average elven archer shoot?"

"All the way across the city," she spoke softly.

'Damn, that's at least three hundred meters. The elves have some fine bows indeed'. "Good, all archers are to remain outside the city, except for the ten best, including you."

"On it," she stood to leave.

"Angelica, who is your co-commander?"

"This prick," she gestured to the elf beside her. He was the one who spoke earlier, demanding explanations.

"Human scum," he spat.

Ignoring what he called my friend, I dished out orders. "You two are going to split the force up into two groups. One with him, and most of the frontline fighters. You Angelica, are going to lead a specialized force. In this group, I want the best fighters you have, and you will train them how to kill silently. If you need help, ask Sinon."

I faced the pointy eared general beside Yuuki. "You two, are going to lead the main force. You're going to set up along the center street, starting from the south, working your way north. I want every single one of your men hidden in buildings. You are going to be part of the first assault, and, in about two hours, I will tell you how it's going to happen."

Both nodded, and walked away.

"And me?" Said Angelica's co-commander.

"Oh yeah, sorry almost forgot. You will be pretending to be our main force. You will have men on the ground, acting as though you are the only line of defense. Spread your troops abreast as densely packed as you can at the southernmost point, and at least three deep. This will make your battalion look many times larger than it actually is. Oh, and I forgot." Lynda arrived with the drinks.

"Where are the others?" She asked.

"Oh, sorry, I meant for you and I. We are going to have a talk in a moment." She nodded at this. "But, can you get me the king right now?"

She ran off, leaving the steaming liquid on the ground beside me.

After a moment, she came back, face slightly blushed with exertion form running.

"What do you want?" Demanded the king.

"You are going to be part of his squad," I instructed, "pretending to be our only defense. We are playing off the fact that they know you are an arrogant bastard and will assume your ego got the better of you. So right before your line clashes with theirs, you will need to look scared, and order a full retreat deep into the heart of the city. From there, reinforcements will pop out of the buildings beside you, and then, with the streets as narrow as they are, you can easily pick them off as they try and wiggle out of the prone position. Simple."

He looked dumbfounded. "I am supposed to risk my life for you?"

"No," I sighed. "you're risking your life so you can get your kingdom back."

"Hrmph," he stomped away.

"I will take my leave," said the general, and he to walked away.

"Now Lynda," I turned, "your role is…"

 **Leadership causes stress, that is proven. If you are a leader, take a day off and let your second in command take over for a day! It will help, a lot!**


	67. Chapter 67-Wolves

**this one is all me, so, I would love criticism!**

It was early afternoon, the sun high in the sky. The elven troops were in place for the defense of the city. I had a final meet with my commanders, outside to the north. The elves still seemed reluctant to receive orders from me, but, they still did as told.

"How this is going to work, is this." I started, facing the semicircle. "Sinon and her elite rangers are going to be hiding at the tallest buildings in the city. Our "Main Defence" acting force will retreat to the center when their army attacks. Once in deep enough-"

Yuuki interrupted, snickering at my wordage. "Sorry" she muttered, "But, I want to know exactly how-"

"Don't you dare" I said growling. She snickered openly. "Now then, once the enemy is near the center, a force lead by Angelica will rush out of the buildings along the street, trapping however many troops as possible in a stranglehold. Once the only two options they have are run or fight, Yuuki and Bronts will come in with reinforcements to change out the fighters, so they don't overexert themselves. Sinon will have her rangers sniping anything looking dangerous the whole time. But the archers out here will stay here until round two, sitting this out.. They will more than likely run after a few minutes of fighting, not being used to this battle style. Once those things are out of the border, we will not pursue, no matter what!" I took a deep breath. "Then, we will most likely have another day before they try to attack once again. During the night, Argo, Angelica with her commando-squad, and myself, will wreak havoc on them, stealing, pillaging, and assassinating. Tomorrow, I will have a new plan, at which time, I will inform you of what you do. Understood?"

"How did you come up with this?" Breathed Yuuki.

"He has The Info Broker as a wife, duh!" Explained Angelica. "She rubbed off on him a lot!"

All of the girls present laughed, even Sinon chuckled. I smiled at the group. "Well, I cannot deny it…." I turned back to somber and serious. "Ok, then. Everyone understand?"

"Where will I do?" Asked Silica, whom I had here, sadly, because I couldn't find anything else for her to do. Her little blue dragon cried softly at her hopeful tone.

"Oh man, I forgot, sorry!" I said to my pint sized friend. "You have such an important job! You are going to be up there fighting. You are now in Angelica's commando squad. Also, I want Pina flying around healing the worst of the injuries, is that ok Pina?" I asked the little dragon.

I swear the little blue thing winked at me. Before I said anything though, Silica let out a triumphant yell. "Yay! I can do something! I will fight harder than anyone else!"

"And you?" Asked Sinon suddenly.

"Sorry?" I asked, wanting her to clarify.

"What will you be doing? You gave us all orders, but never explained what you will do."

I smiled mournfully. "Well, I am sorry, but I won't be up front fighting. I wish, but I see the best move for everyone is if I am up in your sniper hideout, as I am sure you will pick the best one, watching, and giving last minute orders to you girls".

"You still haven't mentioned out newbie yet" smirked Yuuki.

"Ahh, Wraith will come in much later, but he will be a lynchpin in the plans".

They all nodded, although Sinon looked unsatisfied.

"I trust you" she eventually muttered.

"I know, Sinon. I know" I said, with an odd tone in my voice. "Ok! Adjourned" we all stood, and walked to our respective posts, me following the blue haired sniper. Together, we walked down main street, as she looked up at each building, judging height, and visibility from each one. "How about that one?" I asked, pointing to a four story tower, a perfect cylinder.

"There are too many buildings in the way, visibility would be terrible."

"That one?" A rectangular prism, five stories tall.

"That might be our best option." Even though she admitted this, Sinon kept looking for another fifteen minutes. We finally settled on the one I chose.

We lay on the ground, our chests heaving from the strain of running up four flights of stairs without slowing. Sinon sat up, and started getting ready for her duty. She broke the glass of the window with the heel of her boot, and squared down, looking at Main Street.

I dinged. "Sender: Argo

Message: The army is split in two! Half is moving to the east entrance! And some new beasts showed up, they look like a bear sized rabid wolf, with black hair. I think we should retreat."

"Damnit!" I yelled aloud, startling Sinon who had all of her attention pointed forwards.

"What?" She asked, alert of everything.

"Half the enemy is heading to the west. Why would they do that? It's too hard to break into… unless….".

Without another word, Sinon nodded, and got out of the way. I dashed out the window, shouting to her as I did. "Order a full retreat! Everyone inside the city!" In free fall, I thought 'Maybe jumping wasn't a good idea… oh well. Too late now'. I rolled as I hit the ground. I pelted off at a dash to the north, towards our defenseless archers.

After exiting the city, I saw the archers standing around and doing nothing. I yelled as I ran "Fall back! Everyone into the walls!", but no one payed attention. I stopped the nearest elf. "Who in hell is in charge?" I demanded.

"That little blue haired girl…" he said timidly, his body shaking from fear of the livid look on my face.

"Second in command?" I screamed at him.

"That would be me" I heard a drawl behind me.

I let go of the poor low ranking elf, and he ran off. I turned in the direction of the voice. What stood before me was a male, seven and a half feet tall, long blonde hair, and sea green eyes. "Finally." I muttered. "Get the archers into the city" I demanded.

"No, I have orders to keep the, here" he said. "Right from the mouth of Commander Sinon!" He looked so arrogant as he said that, it took all of my will not to draw my blade on him.

"To hell with it! Don't you know I am the one who told her to keep you out here!"

"Then why have you changed your mind?" He demanded. "Seems odd that you wanted us to sit out the first day, yet need us right now!"

"No, you narcissistic bastard! You are about to be attacked! I am estimating you have at max, ten minutes before they get here!"

"Who?" He peered.

"Damnit! The dark elves!"

"Ha! Sinon said they are attacking from the south!"

"They split! Don't you understand! They are trying to surround us!"

As soon as I said this, the ground started shaking slightly. My eyes widened.

"What is that?" He demanded.

"Shit, too late!" I drew my rapier, and started running east. I called over my shoulder "I will hold as many of them off as I can! Get into the city!"

I then faced forward. Some….things came from around the corner of the wall, and were headed right for me. They looked like wolves, yet were too large for wolves, standing at over my height while running. There were five of them now, but it felt like many more on the way. While running, I raised my rapier, and pointed it straight. It glowed a fierce, and ready light. My body was lifted off the ground as the skill [Flashing Penetrator] took effect, pushing me faster than sound, with a thunderclap like sound.

My blade embedded deep within the front wolf's skull with a crunch. I saw that its health didn't even drop below half. My eyes widened as I placed my feet on its snout, and pushed, back flipping into the air. I landed on the ground on one knee, and stood, facing the five wolves. 'The hell… I hit the thing through the face, and its health dropped my one quarter!' I thought, as they made a snarling semi circle around me. 'And I saw their speed, they can take even me down easy'.

Growling, one of the beasts pounced. I sidestepped quickly, and as it recovered from stumbling, I pounded it with [Linear]s.

It backed off, and I checked my handiwork. I did a sliver of damage. 'I don't think I am going to live from this'.

"KYAAAAAAT" I roared as I took the initiative, running at one of them. 'But I will be damned if I don't go down without a fight!'.


	68. Chapter 68-Mole

**thanks to Thunderwolf7226 and Guest for reviewing!**

 **this chapter and the next are dedicated to thunderwolf7226**

I stood between the wolves, starting to tire after minutes of sidestepping and quick attacking. The snarling black furred things were showing no signs of stopping for a five minute coffee break. The one I was facing lunged forward. Again, I dodged to the right, and prepared [Linear]. Right before I let the skill fly, I heard movement behind me. Turning slightly and craning my neck, my eyes opened wide in fear. Another wolf, who was now behind me, lunged. I wasn't fast enough to stop it. The three inch teeth sunk into my shoulder as I tried to move. I screamed out, the pain too much to bear. I was shoved onto my knees from the weight of the thing. I felt the new tunic become soaked as my blood quickly left my body, and the green fabric darkened. I felt my body go numb with shock, and something that the wolves had in their saliva.

Glancing at my HUD, I saw my hp dropping very quickly, but I also noticed the paralyze status effect below the dropping yellow bar. I knelt before the wolf in front of me. It glared leeringly, as though it owned me. I stared back, trying to convey the message "bite me" without meaning it literally. The other wolves bowed to this one. It was larger, and had a scar over the right eye, and its fur was matted, as though it had bleed much, and had no bath. It approached. Its maw opened, and the rancid smell of death greeted me as the jaw wrapped around my head. 'Damnit'. I fainted from the smell alone.

Sinon watched her dear friend jump out of the window. "Order a full retreat! Get everyone to the center of the city!" And he fell. She dashed to the window in time to see him running off. 'How in hell….' she thought. Sinon opened her menu.

Recipient: Angelica, Yuuki, Silica, Liz, Wraith.

Message: Tryth just ordered everyone into the city. They know our plans.

She then made for the stairs. The blue haired girl then received a message, and read it as she ran.

Sender:Angelica

Message: They have entered through the south!

'Goddamnit!' Thought Sinon. 'Ugh!' Quickening her pace, she heard sounds of metal clashing outside; the war had begun. Now outside, she shielded her eyes from the bright sun, and looked at the carnage. Hundreds of elves were already dead, their bloody mangled bodies lying on the ground. She saw...things…. coming. They were dark haired, and pale skinned. They marched in time, shield bearers in front, with sword users behind, and human pikemen in back. 'Wait…. human?'. She raised her bow, and used a skill. [Heavenly Arrow]. Her arrow glowed a pale yellow, and she released it, letting the bolt fly. It slammed into an iron shield, and went through with the armor piercing shot.

The body fell, feathered shaft sticking out of its chest. The march didn't even slow, they just walked over the body. Again, she raised her bow, but was pointing it in the air. She fired another arrow, and it sailed in the air, arching up, and over. Once it started its downward journey, it split, into dozens of arrows, raining on the back of the force. Many bodies fell, and hold opened up, but they were replaced by more living bodies. Cursing at the world, she ran to the center of the city.

She ran up to the inner set of walls, the cities' final defense. The gate was closed. 'The hell?' She thought again. Now up to the gate, she banged on it with the hilt of her knife, trying to gate someone's attention. A familiar figure came up.

"Damnit, Sinon. Why are you still out there?" Demanded Angelica while she waved to the side to get the gate open.

"Just let me in" said the quiet girl urgently. After she said that, the iron bars swung open, allowing the sniper access. Once inside, she looked at the shape of the remaining people. There was a building surrounded by the tall protective walls. There were tents pitched on the yard of the tall tower. There were wounded everywhere, being treated by medics and healers. The smell of sweat and blood hung in the air like a disease. She shook her head. 'How did this happen?'

"What'ya thinking?" Asked her friend, now beside her.

"We have a mole" she said simply. 'It is the only thing that makes sense'.

"Yeah. What should we do?"

'Wait… I am in charge?' She felt her heart tighten with anxiety. 'Why me? What the hell? How can I help?'

"You look scared. Don't worry, you have to be the smartest here, you can do this!" Her friend slapped her back. "You just tell me what to do and I will get it done".

Sinon nodded, licking her lips, and swallowing nervously. "Get the gang, we are going after Tryth. We need him". Angelica nodded, and ran off, opening her menu to send messages. 'Once we have Tryth, we can beat anything!' Sinon was convinced of this, and it kept repeating in her head like a broken record.

Angelica, Yuuki, Silica, Lynda, and Lisbeth ran up a few minutes later. "Got 'em" said Angelica.

Sinon looked at Lynda questioningly. "Sorry, but I know a secret passage outside the city" explained the elf, flustered from the examination.

Sinon nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way. The female elf walked towards the tower. Walking by the bodies, some dead, some dying, made Sinon humble. 'Damnit! Why do these things happened? Small skirmishes, ok, full battles? Ugh!'

Through the tall oak doors, the inside was basically one big staircase, winding counterclockwise. The elf walked downwards, to the dark underbelly of the city. Once we were too far down to see the daylight, Sinon noticed that the party had stopped walking.

Lynda pushed on a grey stone brick to her right, and a section of the wall gave way, swinging open like a door. Inside, it was as dark as here, not pitch, but close. She went in, and continued walking. She lost track of how many minutes passed in the passage, but she felt a gradual incline, and knew they were heading up. They continued in silence, until Sinon bumped into Lynda, and caused a large traffic jam.

"Hey!"

"Ow!"

"Oops! Sorry!"

"Watch it!"

"You watch it!"

'Hrmph.' Thought Sinon.

"Why did we stop?" Asked Angelica.

"We are here" explained Lynda. She raised her hand, and a glowing green symbol appeared. Then, whatever was in front of me parted. Outside, the mid afternoon sun was blinding after the dim tunnel. Sinon gently pushed Lynda out of the way in haste to get out of the ground, slight claustrophobia taking over. Once outside, she shielded her eyes from the sun, and looked around for her lost friend. Then she saw him.

He was laying on the ground, a bloody mess. His right shoulder had been gored, and had stained his his new clothing, now it was over half red. There were five wolflike things laying around him, watching the environment, and him. There was a dark elf standing next to the biggest one of them. It looked like he was talking to them, as though they would understand. She caught a snippet:

"...doesn't want him dead"

"But, I am hungry. Why shouldn't we just kill the brat, after all this trouble?"

"Well, we could just say he bleed out…."

"Good, I will feast"

The big wolf stood up, and approached Tryth. It then placed its jaws on his neck, about to snap away the last of Tryth's hp. Sinon acted.

With a much practiced motion, she swung her bow from off her back, and notched an arrow from the quiver on her back. She drew, and aimed down the shaft of the arrow, pulling it back to the corner of her lip. Just as it glowed pale yellow, she found where she wanted to place the arrow, and released. It flew gracefully through the air, and slammed into the body of the wolf, deep into the left side of its chest, puncturing the heart. The thing froze, jaws tensed to bite away Tryth, and then exploded into blue lights.

The rest of the wolves stood up, and faced Sinon, and started to run. But Sinon was faster. She already had another four arrows sailing throughout the sky towards their targets, hitting hearts and heads, killing instantly. The whole fight took about four seconds. The dark elf was running away, so Sinon shot him in the back of the head.

She then, without hesitation, ran over to Tryth's side. 'Damnit, why is it I leave you alone for ten minutes, and you are already in deep trouble!'. She pulled out a red crystal, the color of rubies, and held it over her friend's body. "Heal" she commanded, and the crystal shattered, replenishing much of his lost hp. When he didn't wake, she waited for her other comrades to approach.

"Wow, Sinon. That was badass!" Said Yuuki, holding her hand up for a high-five, and was ignored.

"How do you do that?!" Angelica shook her head.

"You are so awesome Sinon!" Exclaimed Silica.

Liz just stood there with her mouth agape.

"That was truly remarkable" said their elven comrade.

Then Sinon started giving orders. "Angelica, I need you to carry him to the inner sanctum in the city. We will follow." The other girl nodded.

"Hey, does anyone know why he came here?" Asked Lisbeth.

"He came here to save a large squad of archers" said Sinon.

They all looked around for the archers, and found them, their bodies everywhere, mangled, bloody, and broken. None were spared.

Looking at this carnage, Sinon lead the people back to the still open secret tunnel. Once inside with everyone, and the door shut, Tryth woke up, screaming in fear. Angelica dropped him in surprise. He fell on his back, and groaned. "Ow".

"Are you ok?" Angelica asked instantly. "I am sorry!"

"Oh my god" he said. "Owch."

Angelica helped him up, and he leaned on her, very weak. "Don't worry about me, we have a mole"

"Yes, who?" Asked Sinon. "Who knows the plan?"

"Yeah. You haven't even told us everything yet!" Said Yuuki.

Tryth sighed. "The people who know, are myself… and Lynda"


	69. Chapter 69-Twisted

**well, I was wrong. I have many chapters dedicated to thi derwolf7226! Sorry, I didn't realize just how much I could squeeze out of your idea.**

 **thanks to all who reviewed! You are a big help!**

Instantly, Yuuki, Silica, and Sinon drew their knives, and Liz brought out her mace. All of them got in a fighting position. "What...what do you mean?" Asked the elf timidly.

Grunting from the pain of my not-yet-fully-healed injuries, I answered her. "Don't bs us, I know you told those dark elves, the only other person it could be was me."

"How do you know someone didn't overhear you?" Asked Lynda, desperate.

"Because I whispered in your ear. No one has a Listening skill that high."

"Maybe you told the dark elves!" She backed away, eyes wide in the dark tunnel.

Wincing, I stopped leaning on Angelica. I could feel the rage inside her, waiting to pounce. "You…...dare…..accuse….my best friend….. of trying….. to get himself killed?" She took one step forward, and reached towards my hip, drawing my rapier. Since I haven't recently given her permission to hold it, she fell to the ground, trying to pry it off her hand. "Damnit , Tryth! Call it off!"

"Yuuki, please pick up Shadow Reaper for me" I faced the other girl. She nodded, slightly confused, but trusting I would tell her everything when the time comes.

She pulled the thin blade off Angelica's struggling hand, and gave it to me. After sheathing it, I spoke. "If we kill her, we are just as bad as the people who took their land, no, we are just as bad as the dark elves. Please, Angelica. Trust me." The blonde glared at me, but retreated.

"Lynda, why did you do this? Why did you try and kill Tryth?" Squeaked a livid Silica, her face red with barely controlled anger. Even she was close to snapping.

"Fine" snarled the elf. "That bastard of a king took the throne by force, brutally murdering my whole family. A family servant managed to escape with me, and a year ago, told me the story of his treachery on her deathbed. I want vengeance, he must pay!" She suddenly turned somber. "I never wanted any of you to get hurt."

Everyone looked at me.

"What should we do?" Asked Liz, who also had a frown on.

"I vote kill the bitch!" Exclaimed Angelica.

"I say give her to Argo!" Said Silica. "No one messes with our friends!"

"No" I whispered, feeling very ill. No one heard me.

"Ooh! That would be worse than anything I could think of!" Said Angelica, and high fived the pint sized mage.

"What is wrong?" Asked Sinon suddenly at my side, always aware of her surroundings.

"Nothing" I breathed. "Just not feeling well." I wiped some sweat off my face with a shaking arm. After lowering it, it felt like lead. 'Damn, why do I feel so weak?' I thought.

I opened my eyes slightly and saw something on my HUD. Underneath my hp bar, which was dropping significantly, was a purple skull. I was about to pull everyone else's attention to it, but I fell over, feeling like I had the Black Plague.

"Tryth!" Shouted everyone at once. I tried to speak, but I couldn't.

'Just let me sleep' I thought.

"Hang on Tryth!"

'Leave me alone, I am so tired'.

"Come on, please, oh god"

'Only an hour nap, please?'

Angelica saw her dearest friend fall, hitting his head against the stone ground. "Tryth!" Shouted everyone. He tried to mutter something, but couldn't. Lynda appeared at his side. Angelica knelt by her collapsed friend. "Hang on, Tryth!" She said, grabbing his hand in a deathgrip.

"Come on, please, oh god" muttered Liz, also at his side, rubbing his arm.

Lynda was chanting something in the arcane language, casting a spell. Angelica turned on her.

"You did this! He was fine until we learned you are a traitor!" She stood up, drawing one of her longswords, Backstabber. It was the heaviest blade in the game, with the highest base damage, and highest durability besides Shadow Reaper. She advanced on the retreating female, who stopped her spell.

"No, I swear!"

"Swear on this!" Angelica prepared a [Vertical] skill, that would surely cleave her target in half, but Sinon slapped her across the face.

"What are you doing?" Growled Angelica.

"Stopping you. Watch this" Sinon knelt beside Tryth, and grabbed his hand, opening his menu with it. She went to settings, and set his HUD to "Public", so anyone looking at him can see it. Everyone his health dropping, and the purple skull. "Silica, what is that?" The sniper asked, taking charge amongst her friends.

Silica approached, looking at it and racking her memory. "That means he is cursed. His hp will continue to drop until it either wears off, or he hits zero. Also, the more we heal him, the faster it weakens him."

"And Lynda did it!" Yelled Angelica.

"No" uttered Sinon. "She didn't, the wolves did. There was something dripping from their fangs that wasn't saliva." She stood looking at Lynda. "Since we have no other choice, heal him. Now"

The elf nodded, and knelt beside the body, rapidly deteriorating. Muttering, she placed her hands on his chest, and power flowed from her to Tryth. After minutes of anticipation that felt like millennia, Tryth took a deep breath inwards, and the skull disappeared. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as their longtime friend sat up, rubbing his head.

"Damn, I feel like I lost years off my lifespan" he said.

Angelica tackled me. "Baka." She muttered, crying. "Don't scare us like that! Or… or… or I will tell Argo!" After she let go, I smiled at her.

"And that is a very serious threat if I like being alive." Everyone giggled at this. I stood up, and immediately got dizzy. I reached out for something to steady myself, and Liz appeared under my arm, holding me up. "Gotcha" she said, grinning.

"Thanks" I muttered to her. Now able to walk, I asked Liz to lead my towards wherever they came from, and she obliged.

"By the way" I said weakly to the silent group behind me. "Thank you, for saving me"

"Anytime" said Yuuki. I smiled slightly.

Nodding, we continued on. Lynda passed by me to open a secret door, which lead to a spiraling staircase. Not going outside, the elf walked up the stairs, towards the top of the tower. Shrugging, I followed. After almost needing to be carried by Yuuki and Angelica, I finally made it to the top, panting moderately. Once at the top, there was another door, which she opened. I paused, opening my menu, drinking another hp potion to fill my hp completely, and give me an energy boost.

I followed, now walking on my own, with a little difficulty. Inside, there was an open room, circular. The ceiling came to a point, and had wooden rafters supporting the weight. On the other side of the room was a window, with a platform outside, much like the one at the palace. The king was there, conversing with Lynda. As soon as I walked in, something tackled me from behind.

I yelled in surprise as I fell. "What the hell…?" I said aloud, trying to roll over to face whatever assaulted me.

"Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!" Yelled a familiar voice. "Don't you dare scare me like that again! If you die…. I will…. I will kill you!" I chuckled at Argo's lack of being able to find a suitable punishment.

"Argo, please let me up" I said.

"No! Then you will go do something stupid again!" Was her response.

"Yuuki, please get the Rat off me" I pleaded.

Laughing, the purple haired girl did so, pulling a struggling Argo off my back.

I stood up, and Yuuki released her. She tried to tackle me again, but this time I was ready, and she met resistance that was similar to that of a brick wall. Instead of trying harder, she wrapped her arms around me.

"I won't let you go! Ever!"

"Argo! I am not strong enough to carry you around everywhere! You are really light, but I am just so weak!" I said laughing, hoping I saved myself sufficiently.

"That's your problem!"

I turned around, struggling, and faced the King. "She is the leak, the reason we are losing" I said grimly.

"No, the way it seems from my point of view, is that you are the reason we lost" he said, turning from Lynda, to me.

"What do you mean?" I heard the hostility in his voice. Even Argo tensed up slightly.

"We were fine until you arrived…" he started, pacing back and forth. "The stars told me their forces numbered under fifty thousand… and now they have one hundred fifty…. and they have human hoplites…." Sinon gasped slightly at the mention of the Greek pikemen.

"That explains the green banners…." she said, lost in thought.

"So how do we know you haven't teamed with them as well? That you don't wish to conquer the last of our land?"

Argo let go of me, and faced him, voice neutral, being diplomatic. "We have done nothing but help, we are as stuck in this situation as you"

"Then why is my company of phalanx down to five men? Then why are all of my archers dead? Why is the population of this city reduced to less than one percent of what it used to be?" He snapped his fingers, and his five spear users marched from the balcony, previously hidden from view.

My friends drew their swords, ready for a confrontation. I stepped forward, not threateningly. "Back off" I said over my shoulder, and then to the king, "We do not want to fight you"

"Of course you don't, my phalanx are much better than you!" He laughed.

"No, because I am sure one of us can beat all of you" I said, starting to get really pissed off.

"Then why don't you all fight the dark elves yourselves?" He glared at me.

"Because numbers beats everything." Was my answer. 'Damnit, this is going horribly wrong.'

"Good, I was hoping you would say that" he pointed behind me. With Argo's eyes glued to him, I turned my head, and gasped. There were many soldiers behind me, with some of them holding swords to my friend's necks.

Argo looked when I gasped, and yelled in surprise turned into fear.

"Since you think yourselves so unbeatable, you will fight the dark elves!"

'Damnit'


	70. Chapter 70-Reveal pt1

**next chapter is the last chapter dedicated to Thunderwolf7226, as a lot of this came from him, with slight tweaks.**

 **thanks to all reviewers!**

 **the story is nearly done, not too many more chapters left, so bear with!**

Angelica couldn't take it any longer. Seeing the look of helplessness on her dear friend's face as he saw they were trapped. She started forming a plan to rid herself of the short sword against her neck. Argo seemed to have a conniving look in her eyes as well as the situation required her quick thinking. As if he knew what to do, Tryth spoke. "Let my friends go" he said, voice wavering noticeably. He glared at the king.

"Sorry, but you know I cannot do that" he said, drawing his longsword. He stepped forward threateningly.

"If what you want is a rematch, I can beat you without a blade" said my cocky friend.

"But you are weak, yes?" The more arrogant king sneered. "You would probably need a good week's rest to fight even me"

He hit a soft spot, as Angelica saw Tryth's eye twitch slightly, in nervousness. He licked his lips, and spoke confidently. "Yes, but I don't need to fight to defeat you".

Angelica took her que. she rammed all of her strength backwards, slamming her captor against the wall, making him release her. She then turned around, and punched him in the side of the face, knocking him out. She appeared at her friend's side, prepared for whatever. "She can fight you" he finished.

"What? This...this… girl?" He spat the word out like a curse. "And she is human!"

Tryth lay a hand on her shoulder, calming her instantly. The gesture said "Let him underestimate you". He did the same to Argo, as she was female.

"Yes. This, 'girl'" he emphasized the word to show his disdain for the stereotype, "Is able to kick my ass unless I use an ability that is akin to cheating, so, I think I can sit down, get some rest, while she unleashes a tornado of destruction upon your forces within the room". Angelica grinned sadistically at his words, playing the part of a mass murderer. 'I hope he knows what he is doing, antagonizing everyone like that'.

"I sincerely doubt that" scoffed the foolish elf.

Feeling Tryth tap her on the back, she made one fluid motion, drawing one of her swords, and rushing the king. He raised his blade to block the attack, and hers slammed into it, pushing him back and quickly. They stood still, each exerting as much pressure as they could on their respective blades.

"You are a little better than that other human" grunted the king.

"Thanks" she replied, grinning. "I try"

"But I am the best!" One of his hand let go of the sword, and the other pushed harder than Angelica thought possible, even against Yuuki, who's strength rivaled hers. She was forced against the wall by this unmeserable power.

She pushed harder yet, trying to keep from being pinned against the wall, fruitlessly. She made a decision. She jumped up, and over the king, as he swiped at her, slicing open one of her legs. She landed on one knee, a few meters away within the cramped room.

Her leg stinged from the open wound. Her HUD told her she had a slight bleeding effect, but that didn't scare her. She was back to standing, leaning slightly on her right leg, her uninsured leg. "Nice hit" she admitted. "But not nice enough!" She rushed him, and sliced down, using a powerful [Vertical] to slam into his defense. His sword blocked it, his arm barely tensing underneath his skin tight fabric.

"Wow, I thought you humans perfected the art of killing people!" He said, grinning maniacally.

"Yeah, I'm a little rusty" she replied, backing away again. 'Damnit! What the hell, how is this guy so strong?' She thought. She stood in a ready stance, and opened her menu. After equipping her second longsword, she drew it threateningly. Angelica crouched, left side facing her opposition, with her left blade at a sixty degree angle with the ground, point up. Her right blade was angled to her right, parallel with the ground. She dashed forward, yelling "Starburst Stream!" And the powerful sixteen hit skill took effect.

Slicing down with both swords, a devastating blow was dealt, , and then she spread her arms wide, and did a cross like slash, forcing the king to back up, with fear in his eyes. She pressed, slicing, stabbing, hacking, swiping at him. We skill stopped with him on defensive. She pressed her advantage, and kept attacking even after the power advantage from the skill wore off. He somehow was fast enough to block all of her attacks from both blades, even though she could attack twice as fast as before.

"Enough!" He roared, and an invisible force wave pushed her against the wall with enough force to wind her. Angelica landed on the ground, heaving in breath to quench her starving lungs. The king walked over, and kicked her twin swords away from her. "Petty human girl, thinking she can defeat me." He laughed.

"Damn you!" Yelled Tryth.

I saw her start to lose the fight, and I almost called out. Argo placed a hand on my chest, stopping me. "You will break her concentration" she murmured. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep from aiding her, knowing I would get in her way in this small space. I saw them clashing, her [Starburst Stream] pressing the king against the wall, and I thought she had him, but then, she was knocked back, as though a Mac truck had run into her. The king kicked away her blades. "Petty human girl, thinking she can defeat me", laughing, he raised his sword to take off her head.

I acted.

Drawing my rapier, I dashed forward, thrusting with my favorite skill powering my strike. He looked up, surprised at my session attack. He lept away to the side, my [Linear] scratching him. He backed away to the other side of the twenty meter diameter room. I placed myself panting in between him and Angelica. 'Why couldn't she take him? What is wrong…. where did my strategy fail?'. I stood firm, trying not to show how weak I felt.

"Ha!" He scoffed at my act. "You can barely hold your sword up!" He gestured to the wobbling blade. "Is the Shadow Reaper too heavy for you, boy?"

I already felt my arms aching from holding the light blade. "Yes, actually. Good idea" I thanked him, as I changed my stance. I backhanded the rapier, and put my right side behind me, left hand relaxed in front of my face. My longsword changed into a knife, the now bronze blade glinting dangerously. I gripped the leather wrapped hilt tightly, trying to hold it firm before my assault.

His cocky smile didn't fade. 'Fine' I thought. We moved as one.

I swung my knife around in a roundhouse punch like manner, and he brought his blade straight down on top of me. Both of our blades were glowing with Sword Skills, energy being discharged around them.

"Guuuuuugh" I grunted as I felt my knife lower by a centimeter. I knew if my knife moves another few down, my skill would be cancelled, and I would be cut in half. He knew it too.

"Give up!" He yelled, "You cannot beat this now! A few more seconds, and you will be dead at last!"

'Damnit, he is right'. I made a quick choice. I released my skill, letting his sword come down, and I dodged out of the way to the right, broadsword biting deep into my shoulder. Taking the pain in stride, I drove my once again glowing knife into his arm, slicing it repeatedly.

We both backed away with blood soaked appendages.

'Damnit!' I thought, looking at my arm. 'Lucky to still have the thing'.

"You call that an attack?" Scoffed the king. "That was pathetic! You nearly took down one tenth of my hp!"

'Time to reveal my hand' I thought. "You are right, but the skill I used wasn't one for damage, it was one for paralyzing." He blinked in shock.

"Damn you!" He yelled. He ran at me.

"Three…. two… one…." and he fell at my feet unable to move.

"Grreuguregferteg" he said, face in the ground.

"Now, then Death Gun, explain." I said, making my friends gasp in horror.

 **Originaly, I couldn't decide whether to make the Elven King Death Gun, or to make the dark elf king Death Gun. I think this works out better.**


	71. Chapter 71-Reveal pt2

**thanks to my reviewers! And now, I have misspelled both of my loyal one's names! Yay! Go autocorrect!**

Lynda walked over to me and Angelica, and started chanting a healing spell. When my wounds started to heal, I nodded my thanks. Death Gun, the elf king, was still on the fortune, trying to curse me, but was unable with his face on the ground.

"Stop what you are doing, and put your hands behind your head!" Commanded someone by the door. 'Great, I forgot about them'.

Some elves still had my other friends by the wall, with swords against their necks. The one in front had spoken. He had wide, fearful eyes, but had the guts to order me, so I had to give him some credit.

"Sorry, no" I said politely. "I am causing a revolution, I hereby deem Lynda of the House of Elm, to be the new Queen of the Elven Empire"

This made everyone in the room gasp.

"She tried to kill us!" Exclaimed Yuuki.

"But he is our king!" Yelled one of the captors, looking at Death Gun on the ground.

"Argo, would you do the honors?" I asked my wife.

"Sure" she said cockily.

"Thanks" I replied, sitting down and leaning against the wall wearily.

"Tryth ad a hunch all along that one of two possibilities were true: the enemy general was Death Gun, our enemy" she explained to the elves, "or your king. He sent me away so I could gather intel on the opponent, and not spy on him, learning how dangerous his real plan was. He didn't inform you" she gestured towards our compatriots, "because, well, your poker faces are terrible." She looked at me, and I nodded for her to continue.

"He knew we were going to lose. He counted on it. Not even hit and run would win against what the enemy had in store. Their wolf things would sniff us out, and murder everyone, men, women, children, with extreme prejudice."

"Then why did he tell us to do it?" Asked Angelica, sitting beside me.

"Because he had to. If he gave you the command to attack a bear without a weapon, with a guarantee of losing, would you still do it?"

"I would, I trust him absolutely." Answered Angelica.

"Here too!" Silica.

"Yes!" Liz.

"No matter what!" Yuuki.

"Duh" Bronts and Alesha.

"Hrmph" Sinon.

"No!" All of the elves at once.

"Exactly!" Exclaimed Argo. "He knew you would, but the elves wouldn't! They would have run to their king, and he needed to be in command."

"Okay, that makes a little sense" said Liz. "But can you get these bastards off me?"

I laughed. "Please let go" I asked them. "I can promise that if you do, we won't hurt you"

"And if we don't?" Demanded one of them, feeling bold in his iron armor.

"Sinon" I said simply.

The blue haired girl nodded, and judo flipped her captor, twisted his arm behind his back, and leaned on it, threatening to break the limb. The others gulped, and looked at each other. When they didn't move, the sniper leaned on the arm of her elf more, causing him to cry out in pain.

The elves backed away.

"Good," I said. "Please go over there" I nodded towards a wall. They obeyed. My friends sat down in a semicircle in front of Argo and I.

Argo continued. "Lynda was the lynchpin. He found out she was the rightful ruler, and her family was murdered brutally for the throne. He also knew that Death Gun thought her loyal to him, and that she didn't know her lineage. She had to continue being the 'bad gal', until his plan fell into place. The wolves were unfortunate, and I will punish you later for that!" She scolded me, and I nodded with a smile.

"I deserve it"

"Sadly" she said, "He almost got all of you killed in the process… except he forgot that you cannot die!" She turned to me, and kicked me repeatedly. "Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!"

"Sorry sorry! It's kind of hard not to act when your friends are threatened!"

"Baka!" Was her response, accompanied with another kick. "Hrmph!"

I stood up. "I thank you all for your trust, and I am sorry I didn't tell you everything. In fact I still haven't-" I was cut off with Angelica's words.

"Look out!" She yelled.

I spun around, and there was the king, Death Gun. He stabbed me in the stomach with his sword. My eyes opened wide in surprise, shock keeping me numb. He pulled the silver turned red blade out of me, and I fell to the ground, bleeding out.

"System command, teleport, x equals i-two four three, y equals eight seven four nine two, z equals zero! Targets, all players within ten feet!" 'Since "i" means imaginary, we will all teleport to somewhere inaccessible from outsiders!'

The room around them turned blue as they were force-teleported. When they arrived at their destination, it was black. No walls, no roof, just infinity blackness. The ground was pitch, so it could not be distinguished from anything else. Argo instantly dropped to the ground, and was pouring an hp potion down her lover's throat. He tried to force it away, but she was strong in his weakened state. "Damnit!" She cried when the potion did not heal him, and his health continued to drop.

"Kill…. Death Gun" he sputtered, droplets of crimson liquid coming from his mouth as he tried to speak. Then, he raised his hand and stroked her hair. Right before he touched her, he exploded into little blue pixels.

"No!" Yelled Angelica, running over. Argo just sat there, unable to comprehend what happened.

"Tryth" muttered Yuuki, falling to her knees.

"Damn you!" Yelled Liz, and she rushed the elf king, drawing a mace from her inventory. She swung wildly, and he deflected easily with the longsword, and then sliced her in half, killing the poor smith instantly.

Alesha and Bronts tag teamed him, and they too were cut down in a second.

Sinon drew her bow, and unleashed a hellstorm of arrows, each finding its mark, but doing no damage.

"System command, reflect projectiles!" Called Death Gun, and the arrow s she continued to shoot, stopped. Sinon opened her eyes wide as they turned around.

"System command" continued the enemy. "Enchant projectile, enchantment id homing"

Sinon fell, dead. Pixels flew up once more with the disappearance of another player.

Yuuki growled as she stood up. Her sword glowed white with [Shining Blade], and she charged, slicing. He dodged, just out of reach. As her movements slowed, he stepped forward, and separated her head from her shoulders.

Angelica and Silica stood, watching their friends fall, one after another.

Grimly, Angelica drew both of her swords, and attacked, slicing in a perfect rhythm, leaving no room for him to counter.

Somehow, he parried one of her strikes, and she was cut across her chest, from hip to shoulder.

Then, out of nowhere, Wraith appeared, attacking furiously. Startled, Death Gun was pushed back again, unable to predict the attacks. "What the-" he said as the newcomer stood there.

"Tryth taught me how to fight you, I will win" said the deep baritone voice of the new comrade.

Death Gun sighed. "System command, teleport Wraith x equals zero y equals zero z equals zero"

He advanced on Argo. She sat there, mouth agape at him. He smiled sadistically, and swung down…

Silica blocked the attack aimed for her friend. And she. Was. Pissed. Driven to one knee by the attack, she yelled, "FUCK YOU, YOU ASSWIPE OF A HUMAN DICKHEAD!" And a force wave sent Death Gun backwards. Silica dashed forward, her magical powers making her knife catch fire. She swung it at the person who killed her best friend. Stunned by being knocked down, he was unable to stop the little girl. She sliced him multiple times before he managed to get out of range of her attacks.

"The hell?" He stammered.

Face red with outrage, Silica raised her open left hand, and pointed the palm at him. "YOU TOOK AWAY ALMOST ALL OF MY FRIENDS! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE MY LAST ONE!" and a giant flaming beam rocketed towards her target, too big to dodge.

'So this is it' thought Death Gun. 'I wanted revenge for Tryth killing my brothers, and I get beat by a little girl, figures'. He exploded into little blue lights.

The little girl sunk to her knees, and cried. Argo walked over, and whispered, "It will all be all right. Just logout, and come to Tryth's room in the hospital, ok?"

Silica nodded, unable to speak. They both pressed the button together.

Argo opened her eyes IRL. The sudden brightness made her squint, and blink until her eyes adjusted. The white ceiling of the white hospital room assaulted her eyes. She sat up, stiff from the fulldive. She brushed a lock of a burn hair out of her eyes. Standing, she stretched. Then she remembered.

Her eyes snapped open, and Argo looked at the body in front of her. Tryth lay there, peacefully, with an IV drip in one arm, and various electrodes across his bare chest.

Tryth, who nearly suicide in SAO.

Tryth, who saved her life more times than she has had birthdays.

Tryth, who beat the Death Game.

Who saved his best friend from a lunatic.

Who saved Shino from the Death Gun brothers.

Who willingly entered a video game for months, just to save the world.

Who risked his life at every turn for others, no matter what.

He lay there, unmoving.

She broke down, unable to hold the flood of emotions inside any longer.

 **This is not the end...**


	72. Chapter 72-The End

**this is the final chapter of this story. Thanks to eberyone for reviewing, and letting me bounce ideas off you guys! You were such a big help!**

"Kill…..Death Gun" I sputtered, and died. I was enveloped in blackness, much like where I was before dying. I saw red words in front of me, saying 'You are dead'. A countdown appeared, '5:00 until data dump'.

'Hrmph, five minutes until I die. Well, at least I get to think for a while'. And I sat cross legged. 'Argo is going to be pissed' I mused. 'Yeah, I hope I have enough money in the bank to get her on her feet, maybe go to college and get a good paying job…'

4:22 until data dump.

'I did all I could. In the end, I wasn't good enough. Not even in the damned world I spent months in' I sighed. 'Damnit!'. I closed my eyes, and lay back on the black ground. 'Shit, what about Shino? She lives in my house…. Argo will let her stay, but what if she needs to sell?'

3:59 until data dump.

'Well, I was the Shadow Reaper, the unbeatable swordsman. And I was beaten by the enemy I swore to kill a long time back, and I though I succeed.' My thoughts floated. 'At least Yuuki will be happy. She can surf online, going anywhere, seeing anything. She can occupy her thoughts while I am gone'.

2:00 until data dump.

'Wait' I thought. I swiped my hand down, opening my menu. I flickered through my inventory, looking for the ring that saved Yuuki. I had hope, that I could see my friends again, that I could see Argo again. It wasn't there. I blinked, and felt anger rise in my chest. 'Why in the hell don't I have it?' Then I remembered that Yuuki kept it on. 'I died before Death Gun… so my real body will before his as well!' It took me a while to put this together in the void.

0:56 until data dump.

'Damnit! I was the best, and I am fucking beat by a countdown timer? I refuse!' I started wracking my brain, trying to figure a way out.

0:47

0:46

0:45

'Why? All I want is for my friends to be safe! Why can I not get that, you stupid world?'

0:35

0:34

0:33

'Ugh! How to beat the system….' I sat and pondered all while the timer clicked away, taunting me.

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

'Maybe….' and once again, I tried thinking, remembering how I defeated everything else.

19

18

17

16

15

'No! I cannot win with my brain, I have to win with my heart!' This came to me suddenly.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Data dump complete.

Argo sat in front of her beloved, crying. As she sat there, people filed in, starting with Silica and Angelica, then Shino, and Liz with her phone out. Argo looked up piteously, as thoughbegging for Tryn to awake. They all had solemn expressions on their faces. A nurse came in, and tried to pat Argo's back, but she slapped the hand away, wanting nothing but to be with Tryn.

"Argo" whispered Liz. "He is still breathing"

Argo looked up, and surely enough, his chest was rising and falling gently, and rhythmically. She wiped her eyes, and stood, glaring at the nurse.

"Wake…..him….up" she growled.

"I am sorry" she said. "There is nothing I can do!"

Argo moved swiftly, and gripped the nurse's shirt collar, repeating her demand. "Wake him up, goddamnit!"

Angelica used her slightly higher strength IRL to pry off her friend off of her intended victim. "No, she can't" said Angelica in her friend's ear. "You should just hope that he wakes up, there is nothing else we can do"

"No! You don't understand!" Said Argo. "He died for nothing!" She slumped in her friends arms, and stopped struggling. "He died for nothing! He is gone!"

"What do you mean?" Asked Angelica.

Argo couldn't answer through her tears, so Shino spoke up in her soft manner. "He went before Death Gun, his timer will run out first, and then nuclear winter"

The only sounds in the room were the heart monster and Argo's sniffing.

"Goddamn" said a weak voice. "Why are you gals so sad, it's like there is a funeral or something going on"

The whole room turned towards me, as I sat up, barely able to think. I spoke again. "Too soon?" Argo looked up at the familiar voice, and tackled me before I left the bed. I fell backward, unable to support her.

"Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!" She emphasized each word with a slam on my torso with her fist, the other holding me down so I couldn't escape the assault.

"Ow! Argo seriously!" I exclaimed. Before she could hurt me any more, I used one of my hands to bend her elbow, causing her to collapse on top of me.

She lay there, crying. "Baka" she said one last time.

A week later, I was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health. Many government officials came in to k terview me, but I refused to answer their questions. This did anger them, but I didn't care. They put me through this mess, so I deserve a little break from them. After I collected my clothes form the counter lady at the fornt desk, I changed in the men's bathroom.

After I came out, I walked through the doors that freed me from the all-too-familiar walls of that hospital. Outside, stood Argo.

She had blonde highlights in her aburn hair, and a little bright green dress on. She had some high heels, raising her almost to my height. She had her hands clasped in front of her, and a slight blush to her cheeks that did not come from makeup.

"Wow" I said, breathtaken.

She got a little angry. "I got all dressed up, and actually did my makeup, and all you can say is 'wow'?" She walked up to me, her face now flushed in anger. "You better have a good excuse!"

I hugged her. "I haven't seen the real you in forever, and you are too breathtaking to put into words, so 'wow' was all I can come up with"

She unstiffened in my arms. "Good enough".

I let her go after about fifteen seconds of embracing her, and asked, "So where are we going, m'lady?"

She looked at me with a superior look in her eyes. "To the Dicey Cafe!"

She walked on, me duitifully following. We walked into the little bar owned by a fellow SAO escapee. Once inside, we went to the bar area, chose our seats, and sat in comfortable silence. The tall dark skinned man came up, polishing a glass cup.

"So what do you want today?" He asked, his deep rumble of a voice making me feel calm. "Something strong?"

"Nah" I said. "Can't have alcohol with the drugs the hospital gave me. Besides, I'm too weak to hold any of that in"

He laughed at this. "Okay then, orange soda it is!"

"Same here" said Argo. He dilivered the drinks in tall glasses, and walked over to another spot at the counter, to replace the glass he was wiping, and took another.

After taking a sip of the drink, Argo spoke.

"Should we talk about it?" She asked.

I put my glass down, and thought. "I don't know. I can try" I nodded.

"How did you do it?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Escape from… dying" she said.

I sighed. "I don't know." I said honestly. Her eyebrows scrunched slightly. "I sat in a void, alone, watching a countdown timer. It is hard to stay sane, knowing exactly when the world was going to end. It was hard. I sat there, yelling at myself. I felt that if I didn't wake up, you would die, and I focused all of my mind on figuring out a way to wake up form that void…" I leaned back. "And then… I just woke up to you guys standing there, silent."

"Well, I thought you should know, Silica was the one to beat that bastard"

I raised my eyebrows. "Well, that I did not see coming! I thought Yuuki and Angelica would be able to take him, and I trained Wraith as a last resort, teaching him just how to play as a dps player."

Argo scooted her barstool closer to me, and lay her head on my shoulder. I put my cheek against her hair, taking in her faint lavender scent. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and sat there.

"Don't leave again" she whispered.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Promise?" She looked up at me.

Instead of answering, I kissed her deeply, and long, allowing my actions to put her at ease.

"Ooooh, Tryth-kun! Not in front of the little one!" Shouted Liz, as she walked in with Silica, and Angelica. Liz had her phone out, and in her hand, camera end at us.

"You better not be recording this!" I roared. I may have been weak, but I can use my vocal chords when I need to.

"No! I am not, I swear!" She hurriedly said. "Alesha, Bronts, and Yuuki are looking through the camera!"

I sat down, not realizing I stood up. "Oh" I said.

"Yeah, dumbass!" Said a voice from the phone. "Get it right!"

"Ugh" I sighed. "Can I not have a date with my wife without you people butting in?"

All of the girls looked at each other, and said in unison "Nope!"

 **That was a happy ending. I hope you guys like it! Please post a review, whether it be "this story sucked ass" or, "omg, I am crying after that". I will be writing another sao story, Named: Cleave. Here is the link:** s/12428270/1/Cleave


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